Phantom Brother
by RosyThorn
Summary: Dr.s Jack and Maddie Fenton, adoptive parents of his long lost brother, want to meet and "get to know him" and discuss "how they should proceed." Dick's usual suave and calculated demeanor had been reduced to a bundle of barely controlled nerves. (I own nothing)
1. The Meeting

CHAPTER ONE  
THE MEETING

For the fifth time since leaving the restaurant next to the airport Dick forced his leg to stop bouncing. Bruce, from behind the steering wheel of the convertible Porsche rental, raised an eyebrow, silently teasing Dick in his nervousness. This earned Bruce a half hearted glare and a whole hearted sigh.

Dr.s Jack and Maddie Fenton, adoptive parents of his long lost brother, want to meet and "get to know him" and discuss "how we should proceed." Dick's usual suave and calculated demeanor had been reduced to a bundle of barely controlled nerves. So, despite his surrogate father's tease Dick was more than a little relieved that he was here. Yes, Dick had faced many worse situations, both life and sanity threatening situations, on his own before, but this was much different. And he wasn't entirely sure if he could have done this on his own. But while Bruce's presence helped calm his nerves, it also added to them. According to what they researched, his brother was a negligent slacker that had a problem with authority. Three things his mentor did not tolerate and Dick really didn't want his mentor to dislike or even be unimpressed by his brother.

Never saying a word, Bruce navigated the small city, patiently letting Dick cycle through working himself up and calming himself down. However, Dick pulled out of his thoughts when the FentonWorks spectacle loomed into view at the end of the street. Bruce broke the silent spell in the car as he leaned forward to get a better look.

"Wow, it's even better in person."

The billionaire parked in front of the outrageous brick house that seemed to testify to the inhabitants' opinion on the phrase 'go big or go home' and admired their well hidden and extensive security systems.

"Bruce, what if this was a bad idea? I mean, he even doesn't remember my-our parents. I never even met him. Heck, I didn't even know he existed until this last month. He's had this family his whole life. I'll probably just be an awkward stressor in his life that reminds him that he's adopted and-and-and what if his parents hate me and decide tha-"

"Dick," his mentor interrupted firmly with concealed amusement. "You're going to be fine. Promise."

His ward nodded, took a few calming breaths through his nose, filling it with the smell of air freshener, disinfectant, and new car. He checked his watch. It read '12:54'. They were six minutes early.

* * *

Jasmine Fenton, or simply Jazz, had planned on studying at the library today. But she had developed a small headache when a particularly loud explosion in her parents lab woke her up this morning, that her parents were still cleaning up after. Due to her headache, she changed her mind about studying and chose to use her free Saturday to relax in her room instead. She lounged on her neatly made bed, reading "Metamorphosis" for the third time when she heard the door bell and her mom call to her from the basement.

"Jazz sweetie! Could you get the door? I believe it's Mr. Wayne, and your father and I still have to decontaminate!"

"Alright mom!"

Jazz sighed at her parents poor etiquette. They had planned to meet with Mr. Wayne in their own house over a week ago. And they still managed to be late.

Jazz rushed down the stairs and paused at the door to tuck a few red stray hairs behind her ear, adjusted her headband, and straighten her black, long sleeved, shirt. Once finished, Jazz opened the door to greet her parents guests. The two gentlemen that smiled warmly on the door step, caused her to pause, caught of guard by their alluring charm. The older of the two Jazz immediately recognized as Mr. Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises. He wore a casual gray suite that showed no signs of having been worn on a two hour flight. While the younger gentleman looked very familiar, but Jazz was unable to place his name. He wore light gray jeans and a plain white tee with a blue unbuttoned button up shirt. Though the younger man's smile felt a little strained, Jazz couldn't help the pink that found its way to her cheeks in response to his gaze.

"Good afternoon, you must be Mr. Wayne." Jazz greeted him with a professional air.

"Good afternoon to you too. But, please, call me Bruce. And this here is my ward, Dick."

The young man gave her a smile and a small tilt of his head.

"A-alright, I'm Jazz Fenton. Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable." She ushered them in and gestured to the living couches.

"My parents are downstairs in the lab. They might be a while, because their having to 'decontaminate' after an accident this morning. So, while we wait can I get you some drinks? I can get you some water or make some tea or coffee?"

"Water is fine, thank you, Jazz."

"Same for me. But, um, 'Decontaminate'?" Dick could help but ask.

"There was a particularly messy accident in the lab this morning. I've learned not to ask, so I really can't tell you more beyond that." She told him sheepishly.

While Jazz got water from the kitchen, Dick was a little confused. He wondered why she had known Bruce's name, but not his. It wasn't all that unusual with Bruce being Bruce Wayne and all. But wasn't he the one meeting with the Fentons and Bruce the tag along? His mentor seemed to have picked up on something he had missed. So he let it go and decided to follow Bruce's lead in ignoring it.

Jazz came back and set two glasses of water on the round coffee table in front of them.

"Thanks again, Jazz."

"No problem, Mr. W- Bruce." Jazz cleared her throat and seated herself in the chair catty-corner to the couch. "So, how was your fli-"

"GAAAH! I am so LATE!" An anguished cry interrupted her. "I can't belie-WAH!"

The three heads in the living room turned towards the cry just in time to see a tangled mess of scrawny limbs noisily cartwheel down the stairs and land face first at the bottom with his arms outstretched uselessly above his head.

Without moving the figure groaned into the floor. "Arrg, today is going to be one of those days, isn't it?"

All three spectators snapped out of their shock and were on their feet in an instant. Though Jazz was the first to reach the fallen figure.

"DANNY! Are you you alright?" She tried to help her brother up.

"Oh yes, Jazz. I just fell down a flight of stairs, again. I'm perfectly fine." Danny replied flatly, getting up just fine on his own. They all relaxed a bit seeing that he hadn't done too much damage.

"Again? Does this happen often?" Bruce inquired with an arched eyebrow, impressed with the kids pain tolerance. While his partner stared numbly at the teen. The teens black hair was flattened on one side of his head and sticking up at the top in an obvious case of bed-head. The pink on his nose steadily increased to a borderline red from the impact it had just suffered, while his lip bled slightly.

"Uh," Danny took a moment to register the presence of the two strangers, then rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, no. Not anymore anyway. I just happened to fall down the stairs at school yesterday."

"Uhuh."

"Danny, did Dash push your down the stairs agaiiiii-OHMYGOSH! You're bleeding! I'll be right back!" And like that she was gone. An awkward silent five seconds followed.

"Um, I'm Danny, by the way." He gave a small uncertain wave.

"Nice to meet you Danny. I'm Bruce Wayne, you can call me Bruce. And this is-"

"Dick Grayson." He introduced himself a little breathlessly.

Jazz had returned just in time to hear his introduction and stood frozen in the kitchen doorway behind Danny with a first aid kit in hand. She studied Dick's face anew, her eyes widening as she put the pieces together.

Danny, however, only paused a moment. Dick could literally see the cogs turning in his head.

"Oh! Right!" Danny burst, startling Jazz and Dick. "Super important meeting with Mr. Wayne. That I'm supposed to stay out of the way for... That's today. Whoops."

"Danny, you... are such... a space cadet!" Jazz exclaimed.

Danny turned around, clearly confused. But forgot his confusion when he saw the kit in her hands.

"Ja~azz, I don't need any first aid. My lip has already stopped bleeding."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "And your arm?"

"Huh?" He glanced at the arm that ached the most. An angry red scrape near his elbow greeted him. He put his arm down and started backing towards the front door, looking uneasy at the thought of Jazz taking care of his arm.

"You know what? I'm already an hour late for studying for finals with Sam an Tuck as it is, so I'll just patch it up when I get to Sam's. IGotToGoItWasNiceToMeetYouBye!" He rushed for the door.

"Daniel Fenton! You will not-" __SLAM.__

Everyone stared at the door and for a stunned moment nobody said anything.

Dick has an uncanny ability to read people and he prides himself in the fact he is one of the very few people who are able to read the stoic face of the Batman. So, when Dick glanced at Bruce he was able to see past the I'm-a-normal-human-who-gets-stunned-by-things-too mask, but bristled when all he saw was amusement and calculation.

"Ahem, well." Jazz brightly started. She turned to Dick while tucking a loose hair behind her ear. "How are you related to Danny?"

* * *

 ** **Reviews are appreciated!**** ** **Tell me what you think.****


	2. Meta-Human

CHAPTER TWO

META-HUMAN

 _ _Ahem, well." Jazz brightly started. She turned to Dick while tucking a loose hair behind her ear. "How are you related to Danny?"__

* * *

Guilt had taken hold of Dick as soon as he had realized that Jazz and Danny were unaware of his existence. Jazz's question made the guilt in his stomach turn into lead. He hadn't meant to go behind their parents backs. But it was too late, no turning back now.

"I'm his, um, biological brother." Dick added 'biological' because he felt that calling him a __brother__ would be too assuming on his part and saying __biological__ brother wasn't something he thought he would ever be able to say, so now he said it whenever given the chance.

Jazz nodded, confirming what she had figured out.

"You didn't know." His guilt expressed itself in the statement. He had really messed up.

"Mom and dad told us he was adopted last week. Danny and I had figured it out long before, though. I mean, my parents aren't the best at keeping secrets. But they didn't say anything about Danny having any relatives, let alone actually meeting with one. I'm really sorry, Danny and I weren't supposed to be here, but it was really careless of them to not tell you that we didn't know. They've never been ones to be careful, especially with delicate situations such as this."

"Not at all, Jazz. Your parents have been very careful through this process. It has conveyed to us how much they care for Daniel. Today has just been a series of unfortunate circumstances and it was foolish of us to assume that the two of you knew." Bruce told her earnestly.

Jazz beamed at the praise given to her parents, she knew he was probably just saying it out of courtesy, but he sounded so sincere. While Dick tried not to flinch at the underhand jab directed at him. Dick was sure Bruce had known from the moment Jazz opened the door that they didn't know and he hadn't realized until Danny had said "a meeting with Mr. Wayne." He was really off his game today.

The sound of thunderous foot steps halted any thoughts of continuing the current conversation. Then all of the sudden the basement door burst open with a bang.

Dick had seen photos of Jack Fenton, but, like the house, it was something else to see him in person. He was at least a foot taller than Bruce and twice as broad. The colossal man had a smile brighter than his orange jumpsuit. He grabbed Bruce's hand to shake with both of his own enormous gloved hands.

"Mr. Wayne! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The man boomed in a baritoned excitement, shaking his hand with overwhelming enthusiasm.

Giving Bruce no time to reply, Jack turned his attention to Dick and the man's smile somehow doubled in size. He seized Dick by the shoulders.

"You must be Dick! Haha! Look at you! You look just like our Danny-boy!" Before Dick could do anything to respond he was pulled into a bone crushing hug. "It's so good to meet my son's brother! Haha! That is not a sentence I had ever expected to say!" Jack dropped the young man and took a step back to look him over once more.

All Dick felt was relief with the unexpected and somewhat awkward hug. Danny's parents aren't disturbed by his existence.

"Alright, Dickie, my man, what do you know about ghosts?"

"Um." Dick didn't like the new spark in the man's eyes. Dick had been trying not to judge and label the Fentons as lunatics for excessively studying something that doesn't exist for over twenty years. But the way the man's eyes lit up made Dick rethink his reservation on the label.

"Ja~ack? Do you remember what we talked about?" A red head woman in a teal jumpsuit came up from the basement and stood with her hands on her hips next to her husband.

Jack deflated faster than a balloon. "We're talking about Danny. Not ghosts."

"That's right, honey. Thank you so much." She gently pulled his head down so she could peck him on the cheek.

"Bruce, Dick, it's nice to finally meet you in person." While her smile was genuine, there was an undertoned unease.

Dick ignored his returning nervousness, stepped toward her with an out stretched hand, and greeted her as warmly as he could. "The pleasure is all mine, Maddie. Thank you so much for being willing to meet with us."

"Well of course we'd want to meet you." Maddie's unease didn't completely leave her. But she definitely relaxed with Dick's manners.

It was this moment Maddie noticed Jazz.

"Jazz, I thought you were at the library?" She asked nervously.

"Mom, you asked me to get the door..."

"Oh." The teal clad woman blinked a few times. "I suppose I did. Well, I'm glad you were here to get it. What are you doing with the first aid kit?" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Danny fell down the stairs again and hurt his arm. But he left before I could bandage it."

"HAHA! Danny was here? Did you get to meet him?" Jack asked the guests excitedly, while his wife looked a little mortified.

"Yes, and I introduced myself not realizing he, um, didn't know.. But I don't think he recognized me and he left pretty quickly after that." Dick addressed the distraught mother. "I'm really sorry."

Jack beamed at Dick. But Maddie chewed on the information before sighing and decided to follow her husband's lead in his optimism. She smiled. "Don't worry about it, Dick. It was our fault, really. But I am glad you got a chance to meet him. Come, let's go sit in the living room"

"Then you can listen to me blather on about ghosts!"

"Jack!"/"Dad!"

* * *

"Stupid Box Ghost. Stupid Skulker with his stupid new guns. Now I'm three hours late for stupid studying for the stupid finals. Stupid intangibility tripping me on the stupid stairs and breaking my stupid phone. That's the third one this year and mom said she wasn't getting me another one. AAAARG! I THOUGHT I WAS OVER THOSE KIND OF ACCIDENTS!" Phantom shouted as he flew full speed back to town, looking a little worse for wear. Much to Danny's frustration Skulker had managed to chase him completely out of the city. "But noooo, let's just lose control while we have stupid **_**GUESTS OVER**_** _ _!"__ His yell nearly turned into a Ghostly Wail in his frustration and Danny halted his flight.

 _ _'Wow dude, calm down.'__ He told himself as he winced and held his side where a particularly nasty burn afflicted him. __'Get a grip, your day hasn't been__ that __bad. Sure, you fell down the stairs in front of two strangers, broke your phone, and got chased out of town. But that's not the worst that could happen, or has happened.'__ Danny shuddered. __'Definitely not the worst that has happened. That guy was weird though. What was his name? Mr. Wanner?'__ He resumed his flight, but much slower this time. __' He kept looking at me funny. It kind of reminds me of how Vlad will look at me. But without the pompous arrogance and that creepy smile. Creepy lonely old Fruitloop. But it was like Mr. Wanner was... reading me, I guess. It was much subtler than the fruitloop. Or I could just be paranoid. The other guy looked like he had seen a ghost... Well, he technically__ did _ _. But he couldn't have known that. Haha, his name is__ Dick __Grayson.'__ The halfa chuckled at the guy's misfortune, but winced again at the movement. Danny slowed his flight even more now that he was on the outskirts of Amity Park. Immersed in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice the two teen girls, a Hispanic and a blonde, waving at him frantically as he flew by. __'Grayson, why does that name sound so familiar... Oh yeah, mom and dad said my last name used to be Grayson. Haha, that's a funny coincidence.'__ Phantom froze midair. Even his spectral tail stopped it's constant motion. His eyes grew with each passing second.

"HIS NAME IS GRAYSON!"

With his original speed, he rocketed back towards FentonWorks.

Within minutes Phantom shifted into Danny in an ally across the street from his house. His exertion of the last hour and a half hitting him full force in his human form, leaving him completely out of air. Not letting this deter him, he ran full speed out of the ally, past the parked silver Porsche, across the street without checking for traffic, and up the doorsteps.

Danny practically dove through the front door (not literally), slamming the door behind him in his rush. When Danny spun toward the living room, he found that he had earned everyone's full attention. All of them were slightly red-faced with fading smiles, some of them even had tears in their eyes, like they had just finished a fit of laughter. He stood there for a moment, desperately trying to catch his breath with his backpack awkwardly hanging off of one shoulder. His side throbbed uncomfortably.

"You!" Danny pointed at Dick, who was sitting next to Bruce on the couch at the other end of the room.

"Me?" He raised an eyebrow. A small smile sneaking its way into his lips.

"Your, __huff-huff,__ name, __huff,__ is Grayson," he finally managed.

"Yes, yes it is."

Dick's grin ever so slightly faltered when he saw Bruce from the corner of his eye. All amusement had vanished from the detective's face. Well, all real amusement.

Danny just stared wide eyed at Dick, still pointing. He had no idea what to do or say next, he couldn't even remember how to move. His brain had decided to completely abandon him. Seeing Grayson again and the overwhelming similarities between them was doing nothing to convince his brain to rejoin him.

"That's right, Dann-o! He's your brother! How cool is that?"

Everyone but Danny winced at the boisterous man's lack of tact.

Danny let his arm fall and looked between his parents and his brother, gaping like a goldfish. His anger from earlier slowly trickled its way back anew as he focused solely on his parents.

"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME?"

The outburst startled everyone, any signs of their previous laughter gone. Danny shut his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath to calm himself down when he felt his eyes turn green. Everyone waited silently as he took a few long controlled breaths, understanding his frustration.

Danny didn't open his eyes until he was one hundred percent sure they were blue again. He ran his hand through his hair and let out one last breath.

"Sorry Dad, today hasn't been the best and this... this is a lot to take in."

"That's okay, Dan-man."

Jazz looked at her brother with concern. But there was also a hint of pride from seeing him control his anger in a stressful situation where he had every right to be upset.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. We only found out ourselves last week and we were going to wait to tell you after your finals this week so you could focus on studying." His mom explained.

His face soured at the mention of school. It had been the cause of a lot of grief this year and this was just one more item to add to the ever growing pile. But he nodded, letting his mom know he understood.

"Danny? Why didn't you bandage your arm?" His mom had noticed it when he had ran his hand through his hair.

"Heh? What?" The question had thrown him off at first, but then he thanked the high heavens that his human side didn't heal nearly as fast as his ghost side. "Oh yeah. Ummm, I forgot to."

 _ _'That's a lie.__ ' Three of the rooms occupants thought simultaneously.

"Oh Danny. Come with me and we'll get it cleaned up." His mom stood up, completely buying the obvious lie.

"I'll do it mom." Jazz intervened quickly. She jumped up, grabbed Danny and steered him into the kitchen, leaving the adults behind in the living room.

Jazz got the first aid kit out again, only to have Danny snatch it as he slung his backpack off and begin working on it himself. His sister crossed her arms and huffed indignantly, but otherwise let it go. She had more pressing matters to attend to. She let him clean his elbow in silence. He worked much slower and more meticulously than necessary.

There was a muffled conversation coming from the living room. Jazz pulled out her cellphone and began to text.

"What are you doing?"

"Letting Sam and Tucker know you're not dead, well, not completely dead. They texted me a while ago saying you hadn't showed up and your phone was going straight to voicemail."

She only got a grunt in response and they lapsed back into silence. She watched him as he finished his thorough cleaning.

Finally, Jazz decided to gently prod, starting with something other than what caused him to explode earlier.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I fell down the stairs remember?" He gave her a look.

"Danny, I meant after you left. Why was your phone off?"

Danny tossed the dirty cotton swabs into the trashcan, then grabbed the biggest band-aid in the box and ripped it open.

"My phone broke when I fell down the stairs and Skulker chased me clear out of town, guns a blazing." He slapped on the band aid and pulled the Fenton Thermos out of his backpack. He gave it a good shake before none to gently putting it on the counter.

"Ghost-X is in there?"

"Yup! Along with the Box Ghost and a weird slug thing I found under the RV." He smiled triumphantly with a sinister gleam in his eye. "And I don't plan on letting them out anytime soon."

His sister frowned at him. She saw right through his tough and humorous facade and saw the frustration and confusion still bubbling beneath the surface.

"Are you okay, Danny?"

Danny's smile faded and turned into a scowl.

"I'm still really mad at Mom and Dad. I get why they didn't tell me. My grades suck and I don't need anymore distractions, but that kind of makes it worse." He knew if he didn't answer her that she would eventually weasel it out of him. Besides, she sometimes had good advice.

"That isn't the only reason they were waiting to tell you. They also wanted to make sure he wasn't an unsavory character."

"Oh, so if he was 'unsavory' they would have never told me? I can take care of myself!"

Jazz was sure the adults in the other room had heard his exclamation, but didn't worry about it, because it was easily misinterpreted. "I don't believe that was their intent, Danny. I think they would have just tried to proceed with more caution. But that doesn't really matter, because that hasn't happened at all. Mom and dad are actually quite taken with Bruce and Dick."

Danny didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyway. His face slowly fell into a worried expression. His sister could see a question making its way to the surface. He turned his gaze to stare intently at the lid of the thermos. Jazz would have given him all the time in the world.

"Do... do you know if he believes in ghosts?" His face displayed determination, but his eyes remained locked on the lid.

"No, I don't think they do. But they knew mom and dad's profession before they entered the house and they're not mocking or judging them. Bruce even looked curious when dad mentioned the Fenton Wrist Rays. So that's something."

Danny looked up."Wow. That is something."

"You know Danny, Bruce is planning to go back to Gotham tonight, but Dick is willing to catch a flight home tomorrow if you wanted to hang out for lunch or something. But if you wanted, you could slip out the back door and I'll cover for you and give them your answer."

Danny smiled at his sister gratefully. She had effectively defused some of his frustration and provided him with an escape. "What's the cover you plan on using?"

"The truth. You ditched your friends without explanation and your phone is dead. So, you left to let them know your alright."

"That's a pretty weak excuse."

"Like you could do better. Besides, we don't need a strong excuse. Dick and Bruce are very sensible and perceptive people. I'm sure they will understand you needing time and space."

"Thanks Jazz. But I think can at least say 'hi' and give them the excuse myself before I ditch." He gave her a loose smile.

"Alright, little brother." She returned the smile.

They moved back into the living room. Jazz returned to her spot, while Danny awkwardly stood near the threshold.

"Are you alright, Danny?" Dick asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine. It's really not as bad as it looks." He knew Dick hadn't been talking about his elbow. But he sucked at lying, so he played dumb instead.

"That's a relief." He wasn't fooled for a second, but went with it anyway.

Danny's eyes darted over to Bruce. He had thought he had seen the man looking at him with __that look__ again. But it was gone so fast, Danny wasn't sure he had actually seen right. He kept his eyes from narrowing in suspicion and tried to keep his face neutral.

"Hey, um, Bruce and I actually have to go soon. But I was wondering if... if you would want to hang out tomorrow for lunch or something." Dick tried desperately not to ring his hands together. They didn't actually have to leave. They had plenty of time before Bruce's flight. But Danny looked uncomfortable and ready to bolt.

Danny didn't have to make a lame excuse and bail. He blinked a couple of times. Was Dick nervous?

"Yeah, lunch sounds cool. You good with fast food?"

Dick lit up like Christmas had come early. "Yes! Fast food is great!"

"Um, okay..." Danny's eyebrows were at his hairline. __'Does he really like fast food that much?'__ "My favorite place is the Nasty Burger. We could meet there."

"Yeah, we drove past that place. How about I come and pick you up? Let's say, eleven?"

"That would be great!" Jack answered.

"Um, actually, can we meet at the Nasty Burger at one? I've got a lot of studying to do tonight and I'll probably be coming from a friends house." Danny mentally pat himself on the back for thinking ahead.

"That works for me." Dick knew the wait was going to kill him.

Bruce stood, seeing a good opportunity to take their leave. "We should probably leave now, if we want to catch my flight."

* * *

As soon as both of the car doors were closed Dick turned to Bruce.

"Alright Bruce, what did you see?"

"Just a hunch." He dismissed as he started the car.

"Your 'just a hunch's turn out to be spot on seventy-five percent of the time and the other twenty-five percent of the time you're still right,"

There was a pause before Bruce responded with, "I think your brother is a meta-human."

Dick turned his focus to the street in front of them.

"You noticed."

"His hair look the way Wally's does after a light run. I was hoping that there was a reasonable explanation."

Bruce gave Dick a disapproving look.

"What?"

"That's all you noticed?"

"I was a little busy with meeting my long lost, __biological__ brother and his crazy family!"

Bruce didn't look any less disapproving.

"Okay, what did __you__ notice?"

"His clumsiness started two years ago as did his failing grades. When his parents talked about his clumsiness Jasmine knew something her parents didn't, but kept quiet. His lip was nearly healed and his arms scratch looked a day old."

"This is more than 'just a hunch'."

"I think he lied about forgetting to bandage his arm because he never made it to his friends house. But he hadn't been lying when he told us that's were he was going. Something prevented him from reaching his destination."

"Amity park doesn't have any vigilantes."

"None that we're aware of."

"So you're thinking he's having a hard time controlling his powers?"

The detective nodded. "That would explain things, like to his sudden habit of being late for or skipping classes and his clumsiness. Also, his eyes changed color, from blue to green, when he lost his temper. Dick, he could be dangerous. Him not having control over his powers could explain the destruction the city suffers."

"Now you're just jumping to conclusions. Danny isn't the Hulk."

"The Hulk?"

"Comic book character. But that's not the point. The file said the League already investigated the mysterious destruction and concluded it was a group of persistent, desperate people looking for tourists and the League's attention."

"You're right. But I wasn't apart of that investigation. We can't rule it out as a possibility."

"He is a good kid and he's a horrible liar. I don't think he's causing all the destruction."

"You may be right. But we can't rule it out. He and his sister were hiding something. I'm going to trust you judgment with this one though. Since he is your brother."

"Wait. Usually that is the very reason you __don't__ trust people with certain cases."

"You have extensive experience with meta-human teenagers. I'm busy with the Poison Ivy and Penguin case. You're the best option for this case. I'm going to trust you with this one, Dick."

Dick heard the __'so don't screw up'__ that was implied.

"You're not going tell the League are you? It's going to be hard to earn his trust if we've already outed his secret."

"Like I said, it's just a hunch."

"Thank you, Bruce."

* * *

 ** **Post a review and I'll read it a hundred times a day everyday and I'll try to remember to respond.****

 ** **Date posted: 7-7-16****


	3. Bruce Wayne?

CHAPTER THREE

BRUCE WAYNE?

* * *

Danny flew over to the Mansons mansion. He had left not too long after the FentonWorks guests left. His mom and dad had launched into showering Dick and Bruce with praises as soon as they were out the door. Danny's exasperation and irritation grew with every given praise. When he had finally had enough Danny interrupted them to let them know about his phone and to ask if he could spend the night at Tucker's to study. After a bit of scolding for breaking his phone again and receiving permission for a study night, Danny used Jazz's weak excuse to escape. Upon arriving at the Mansons he immediately phased through the roof into Sam's bedroom, not bothering to use the front door.

"-take a break and play some DOOM."

"Guys! you won't belie-"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Tucker fell over backwards from his sitting position on the floor, surrounded by school books and notes. "Don't do that, Danny!"

Sam lay on her stomach across from Tucker, propped up by her elbows with an open history book in front of her, looking at Tucker with unimpressed disgust.

Danny shot down to the floor next to his friends, and shifted back to his human form a little too early and landed with a small thump, nearly toppling over. "Sorry, Tucker. But you guys won't believe what just happened!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Danny. Jazz told us what happened. We know you weren't just blowing us off."

"She did?"

"Yeah, it's cool, dude. We've actually been compiling notes for you." Tucker jabbed his thumb towards a stack of lined paper filled with handwritten and highlighted notes.

"Wait. That's it? You're not surprised?" His expression slid into a disappointed frown.

"Um, no Danny, we're not." Sam said slowly. "Skulker is always after you and you breaking your phone isn't anything new either."

"No, I mean you're not surprised that I have a brother?"  
Sam and Tucker stared blankly at Danny.

"YOUR MOM IS PREGNANT?!" Tucker broke out of his stupor and shouted in shock and slight disgust.

"What?! Ew! No! I..." Danny smacked his forehead and drug his hand down his face. "Okay, Jazz didn't tell you."

"Your mom's not pregnant?" Tucker asked.

"No!" Danny shot the notion down, "I have a biological brother."

Sam's mouth fell open and Tucker scrunched his nose in confusion.

"So, your mom is pregnant?"

Sam chucked her capped highlighter at him, nailing him in the forehead.

"Ouch! HEY!"

"Danny's adopted, you idiot."

Tucker blinked and stopped nursing his forehead. "Oh, right. I knew that."  
Sam returned her attention to Danny, who looked ready to implode and explode at the same time.

"You have a biological brother? Since when? I thought your parents said you were abandoned at a hospital."

"I found out today. These two guys came to our house to meet with Mom and Dad. But then it turns out the guys say that they're my biological brother and his adoptive father! Mom and Dad knew who they were before they came over of course, but me and Jazz didn't know because Mom and Dad didn't tell us! And I wasn't supposed to meet them today, but I did and now I'm going to lunch with him tomorrow!" Danny gushed out and threw his hands up in exasperation.

Sam had tried to follow Danny's speedy explanation, but spectacularly failed. "Um, what?"

"Uh, Danny? Could you try that again, but this time in more detail and, you know," he pushed his glasses back into the bridge of his nose. "slower? Because that wasn't even sort of helpful."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Right. Sorry."

He took a deep breath and let it out. Then he went on to retell what had happened in detail. Even though his friends were terrible listeners, interrupting him to laugh at him or to rant on the injustices of the ignorance of the adult mind and misunderstanding parents, talking about it with them had helped. The flurry of thoughts and emotions swarming through his head settled into a somewhat manageable mess.

Sam's purple lips thinned into a contemplative line as she processed the information provided to her.

"No one had any idea he existed until, what, a couple of weeks ago? Doesn't that seem just a little suspicious?" She asked in all seriousness, taking the risk of having Danny getting upset at having his brother questioned.

Tucker rolled his eyes, "oh, come on Sam. Not everything is a plot to ruin Danny's life." But before he had even finished he realized that with Danny's recent history his statement could be proven false.

"I actually had the same thought, Sam," Danny paused, looking between his two friends. "I mean it wouldn't be the first time a ghost has tricked us into believing they were human. I know it's not very like that there is anything going on, but..." Danny fidgeted,

A heavy silence followed Danny's statement as they all exchanged glances.

"On it." Tucker reached for his backpack and pulled it towards himself. After a little digging he pulled out a PDA that had odd additions and modifications that were obviously done personally, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"What is that?" Sam asked, swinging her legs underneath her and sitting up from her lying position.

"She is Nancy. I've been programming and modifying her sense the, huh," He coughed into his fist. "Gregor incident. You know, that guy that Sam thought was hot and Danny thought he was a spy for the Guys in White. You dated him and you spied on them. Then you were both wrong; he wasn't a spy, but he was a liar, a phony, a total jerk, and a-"

"YES! Tucker, we remember!" Danny cut him off, while Sam glared.

"Well, after the phony left I got to thinking: What if someone else suspicious shows up? What do we do then? Same thing as last time? I think not! Behold!" He held up the PDA. "The technological detective that will soon replace all of the inferior and flawed human detectives, NANCY!"

Sam and Danny gave each other a quick glance and they both decided to wait for the inevitable long winded explanation.

Tucker huffed at their lack of excitement and already annoyed expressions. "Don't worry, I'll explain with small words so that you two simpletons will understand."

"Could you also keep you're explanation short? My simpleton brain can only handle so much arrogance for so long." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I've programmed Nancy to find any and all information she can on any person I tell her to in a matter of minutes."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Danny's attitude made a three-sixty. Tucker puffed out his chest and stuck his nose in the air.

"But what if you are looking for someone named John Smith? Wouldn't you get all the information on all the John Smiths out there?" Sam challenged.

"Yes, but Nancy can narrow the search down if you give her more information on your 'John Smith'. Like, if I gave her John Smith's date of birth, relationship status, current residence, or any other information you might have she would rule out any John Smiths with conflicting information."

"Okay, I'm actually impressed," Sam praised. "But don't you think 'future replacement of human detectives' is taking it a little far?"

"Absolutely not! I'm still working on her! She may not be able to surpass a real detective now, but some day..." As Tucker let his voice drift off, he got a hopeful and longing look in his eye. He sobered up quickly and stated, "I'mAlsoWorkingOnAWayToUseNancyToHackIntoSecureNetworksAndDataBasesWithoutBeingTraced."

"WAIT! WHAT?! WHY?!" Danny yelled.

Sam just looked at Tucker in awe.

"The way I see it Danny, is it's only a matter of time before someone in the world of the living other than the Guys in White notice you or the Guys in White step up their game. So, I thought we might as well arm ourselves against the living the best we can before it becomes a problem."

"But Tucker, that's still very illegal! You guy shouldn't be breaking laws for my sake or, you know, at all." Danny made a fruitless snatch at the PDA.

The techno-genius held Nancy protectively to his chest. "If I remember correctly, your existence is illegal according to the ecto act the Guys in White put in place. Oh, and speaking of, don't you fight with the Guys in White like every time you see them? I'm fairly sure attacking a federal agent is illegal."

"You know I never shoot first!"

"Still illegal. Besides, hacking is only illegal if you get caught."

"Tucker, this is serious! Sam!" Danny looked to her for support.

"Actually Danny, I'm with Tucker."

"What?! Why?"

"The government is after you, Danny. A small branch of it is anyway. Meaning the government is not on our side. What if someone with not so great intentions came after you and caught you? There would be no one (in the living plane that is) to help you, not the police, not the government, not even Justice League. We need to be prepared for that."

"Yeah, but you guys-"

"Are already breaking the law. We're aiding and abetting a wanted felon." Tucker interrupted.

Danny glowered, "I get your point, but I still don't like it."

"Well, get over it," Sam deadpanned. "Tucker can you use Nancy to look up Danny's alleged brother?"

"On it."

Despite Danny's continuing displeasure with the thought of his friends breaking the law for him, he felt a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. He had the two greatest friends he could ask for.

"Wait, could search his adoptive father first?" Danny wasn't sure why, but he'd much rather

figure out if Bruce was a fake first.

"Sure, what was his name, Bruce...?"

"Wayne."

"Bruce Wayne? No way. The guy at your house was not Bruce Wayne."

"I'm pretty sure that was his name. Why? Do you know him?"

"Here." Tucker started typing on his PDA and showed Danny the screen that now had a

picture of a man smiling handsomely at the camera. "Is this the guy?"

"Yeah, that's him." Danny nodded "that's a really good shot of him..."

Sam and Tucker stared at Danny in disbelief.

"What?" Danny fidgeted.

"Oh man, OH MAN! Are you seriously indirectly related to the Bruce Wayne?!" Tucker looked as though someone had given him a back stage pass for a Humpty Dumpty consort.

While Sam sat with a look of disgust and horror, similar to the look she would get if someone offered her fried chicken.

"The Bruce Wayne?" Danny asked feeling out of the loop.

"Dude, Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries! The guy is more loaded than Vlad!"

Danny eye's widened, "s-seriously!?"

His friends both nodded mutely. Danny thought to himself that maybe the look he had seen both Bruce and Vlad give him was just a billionaire thing.

"Do you know how many Wayne galas my parents have tried to make me attend?" Sam burst angerly, "five, five galas. Technically I was able to avoid three of them. But that's two I was unable to avoid!" She huffed, "...The dresses I had to wear..." Sam shuddered. "And he's hosting another charity event coming up this month."

"But more importantly, he's the owner of Wayne Tech! I spent my entire allowance on one of their PDAs last year. She was amazing! Gwen was the best PDA I've owned. She was still going strong when I lost her." Tucker sniffed, "oh, Gwen."

"It's an auction this time and my parents are super determined this time too. I don't think I'll be able to get out of this one without some major sacrifices." Sam mused bitterly.

"She was so young! Her life had just started!" Tucker wailed clutching onto Nancy as though she had been the one he had lost.

"Yeah, that's nice guys, but could we get back on track?" Danny asked with enough volume to pull them out of their musings.

"Yeah," Tucker dried his eyes and sniffed, "do you want me to look up your brother then?"

Danny hesitated before nodding. "Yeah,"

"What was his name again?"

"Dick Grayson, or Richard Grayson, I guess."

"Okay, got it. We just need to give Nancy a minute to do her magic."

Tucker sat with his eyes glued to the screen watching his programs progress. Every now and then he'd frown and start rapidly typing and mumble something that sounded like 'hitches'. As seconds turned to minutes Danny nervously peered over Tucker's shoulder.

Tucker sighed, "Danny, you are and always will be my best friend. But this is going to take a while. So, would you please stop breathing down my neck and let me work?"

"Sorry," Danny slumped back into his spot on the floor.

There were a few more minutes of silence, with the occasional grunt of frustration from Tucker. Sam sighed; though she was perfectly content in waiting in silence, she noticed that Danny was not through his constant shifting and the insistent drumming of his fingers. She decided to try and rescue him from his growing anxiety by distracting him.

"So, Danny... What's he like?"

"Huh? Oh, umm," Danny struggled to pull his head from wherever it had gone and back to the present. "He looks a lot like me... But he's really, really... cool."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "cool?"

"Yeah, like, he's never had a teacher hate him and has never been turned down by a girl before and has a really sick ride kind of cool," he disclosed.

Danny could tell by the sly look on Sam's face that whatever comment she was going to make was going to be at his expense. But as she opened her mouth, Tucker interrupted by calling their attention with an, "alright."

Danny snapped to attention, as Tucker continued, "there was a lot to sort through: tabloids, gossip magazines and other stuff like that. But I've got it narrowed down to relevant information and more dependable sources. Here, take a look."

Danny hesitated for a second before he slid himself next to Tucker to see what he had found.

* * *

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews and PMs! I would seriously have died of an insecurity attack by now if it weren't for all the positive feedback.**

 **Date posted: 11-5-16**


	4. His Only Friends

**This one turned out long.**

CHAPTER FOUR

HIS ONLY FRIENDS

* * *

Danny kept his footsteps purposely steady and rhythmic. His hands gripped the straps of his purple backpack. Amity's mall slowly came up on his right and began to pass. But Danny didn't really seem to notice as he was staring intently at the sidewalk. The information Nancy had found on his brother dominated his thoughts as he trecked forward.

The over-glorified-Google search, as Sam later called it, came up with the basic information: age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and so on, along with news articles and police reports that painted a picture of a rather exciting life. Turns out his brother was born and raised, and preformed in a circus, Hailey's Circus. At first, this had put an uneasy feeling in Danny's gut. His only experience with any circus had been more than unpleasant. After his run in with the gothic circus, Danny had made himself a mental note to never ever set foot in a circus again. But after watching some old footage of the Flying Graysons and a serious reprimanding from his gothic friend on stereotyping and being bias or something like that, he was willing to reconsider his standing on the matter.

Danny shivered and pulled up the hood of his red hoodie. He scowled at the sun for not doing it's job properly in keeping the earth warm. The shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

After the circus, Dick was adopted by the billionaire, Bruce Wayne, and lived in a mansion that rivaled Vlad's. He had been kidnapped a number of times, he did have several sick rides, and has dated a lot of "smoking hot babes" as Tucker put it. They also found out that their parents had died a year after Danny had been adopted. Which stung a little... or a lot. Danny hadn't realized that he had felt relieved when found out that he had a brother that had been adopted as well, that it wasn't just him, but he had. But now he realized they weren't separated from their biological parents for the same reason. Anyway, it turns out his parents didn't just die, but were murdered. Sam had gotten really interested in investigating that. At first the newspapers said that it had been faulty equipment that malfunctioned during a performance, but then several months later the case was reopened and the murderer was brought to justice. But that wasn't the most exciting part; According to a small newspaper article, the Batman had allegedly been apart of the investigation. Batman, the world's most mysterious hero and greatest detective, may have investigated his parents murder. And Dick had been in Gotham at the time. Tucker had said that if Batman had been the one to catch the murder, that it was more than likely that he had talked to Dick as a witness. So, his brother might have met the Batman. That was so ridiculously awesome.

Turns out that Dick is currently a part of the Bludhaven police department. Sam's opinion of Dick had done a three-sixty as it had been steadily lowering as they read about his various girlfriends, parties, and not so eco-friendly boat and car choices. She had reluctantly agreed that he probably shared Danny's hero complex if he took a job as a cop in a city that rivaled Gotham's crime rates. Especially when he clearly still had access to his adoptive fathers funds with the condo he was living in and the motorcycle he drove. Danny silently admitted to himself that they may have taken their search little far. But all in all, Dick Grayson was cool. Something that he, Danny, was definitely not. Well, without his alter ego. Without his alter ego, he was just a nerd with horrible grades. Seriously, weren't nerds supposed to get good grades and rule the world when they graduated? But no, Danny didn't even have that.

Danny kicked an innocent bystanding rock across the sidewalk, with a frustrated huff. Dick was the definition of cool. He was like everything everybody at school aspired to be: athletic, rich, good looking, a honor student, and had hot girlfriends (according to some gossip magazines: the list was extensive.) Danny really didn't compare to Dick at all. The rhythm to Danny's foot steps slowed. Dick probably won't like him at all, a loser with bad grades and crazy parents.

A small wisp of unusually cold air escaping from his mouth interrupted his thoughts. He was used to this cold sensation, but this time it had been abnormally cold. Danny quickly forgot the anomaly when an inhuman roar came from the mall, immediately followed by the screams of panicked mall shoppers. Danny smirked, turned heel, and dashed towards the sound of chaos.

* * *

Dick leaned on the side of the rental car. He had gotten to the Nasty Burger embarrassingly early, in his opinion. He took in a deep breath and let it out in a content sigh, relishing the relatively clear air. It definitely wasn't the cleanest air that he has had the luxury of breathing, but it was cleaner than Bludhaven air. Clean air was something that Bludhaven did not have in the slightest. Along with the fresh air, the sun that refuses to show it's face in Bludhaven, shone happily in Amity Park. Dick let the clear air, the sunlight on his eyelids, and the growing warmth of his black shirt steady his mind into a peaceful serenity. Last night he had been unable to sleep, seeing as he was a knotted bundle of nerves and to distract himself he researched Amity Park. Which hadn't helped in the slightest.

In fact, his research only added a migraine to his stress and restlessness. The conclusion that he eventually came to was that everyone in Amity is clinically insane.

Ever since Amity Park was founded its people have been incredibly superstitious. The number of reported and "confirmed" hauntings and sightings of the supernatural were ridiculous. And while the city took these reports with complete seriousness, they also seemed to make light of it; the street names were a prime example of this: Spook Street, Spector Avenue, Bedsheet Avenue, Haunted Street. They even advertised themselves as America's most haunted city. But it was almost two years ago, when the attacks started, that things really got crazy. There were claims of ghost invasion, mass kidnappings, and tons of possessions. Then there was the claim that the entire city had been transported to another dimension, which had gotten the attention of the Justice League. Who sent Flash, a scientist familiar with interdimensional travel, and Question, a detective relatively familiar with the supernatural, to investigate.  
The investigation had been short as there had been no signs of dimensional hopping. The two leaguers did briefly look into the ectoplasmic ghosts that the city insisted terrorised the streets. But the only solid evidence was the destruction left behind which could easily be explained by attention seeking vandalists. All the "photographic evidence" the people of Amity Park had were blurry, unfocused, and indistinguishable at best. Though Question did make a note saying that the more popular ghost the people described, Phantom, seemed to be loosely based on an old legend that traversed across many cultures. The legend was usually about a spirit of kindness and/or protection of black and white forever locked in a battle against an evil demon or an immortal vampire. But the Leaguers eventually concluded that either someone was fooling the city into believing in such beings or the city itself was trying to fool the League. Which they wouldn't be the first on both accounts.

On top of his fairly inconclusive research he had gotten a call from Alfred.

 _Dick sat cross legged on the hotel bed, eyes locked on his laptop in front of him, the screen littered with different articles on and by the couple that had adopted his brother. It took Dick exactly ten seconds to realize his phone was ringing and four more seconds to locate and answer it._

 _"Dick Grayson at your service."_

 _"Good afternoon, master Dick. This is Alfred Pennyworth speaking."_

 _Dick rolled his eyes at the unnecessary introduction as Alfred had more than likely done for Dick's own introduction._

 _"Hiya, Alfred. What's up?" Dick wasn't sure why, but he always seemed to resort to a more childish vocabulary when speaking with Alfred. Maybe it was to offset Alfred's extensive and stiff vocabulary, but Dick wasn't really sure._

 _"I'm afraid I've called with some unsettling news."_

 _Dick's eyebrow twitched in irritation. 'Unsettling news' could range from 'Wayne manner was out of window cleaner' to 'there's a gang war and Bruce has literally broken a leg.'_

 _Alfred continued when he received no response, "master Tim as found that someone has electronically done some extensive research on you as Richard Grayson. According to master Tim, whoever conducted the search is quite skilled; master Tim was unable to track them. And I'm afraid that they have the address to your current place of residence and work place. Master Dick, I, and master Bruce, insist that after you are finished in Amity Park that you stay at Wayne manner until this matter is resolved."_

 _Dick slumped against the headboard of the bed. "Aw, c'mon Alfred. I have a lot going on in Bludhaven and I can't just leave work! I can take care myself! I'll just keep an eye open for trouble and be extra careful."_

 _"Master Dick."_

 _Dick winced and slumped further at the tone Alfred used. He had known that wouldn't be able to convince Alfred to let him stay in Bludhaven, but the finality in Alfred's voice solidified that knowledge._

 _"Alright, alright! I call the precinct tomorrow and tell them I've got a family emergency. Ya happy?"_

 _"Quite," the butler replied dryly. "Now that that's out of our way: how was the meeting with the Fentons?"_

 _A huge grin took over Dick's face and immediately delved into every detail of the day and the plans for tomorrow. Dick checked his watch, yep, still tomorrow._

 _"That is absolutely marvellous, master Dick. I cannot express how happy I am for you. But there is something I must warn you against."_

 _"Yeah?" Dick sent a worried glance at the phone._

 _"I know that you still miss your parents. And I understand that finding your biological brother may seem like getting a piece of them back. But please, Master Dick, do not put the responsibility of filling that hole on the young boy's shoulders. I can guarantee he will not be able to and you just might drive him away in the process. Life is not replacing something that you've lost, my boy, it's giving you something new. So treat him as such." Alfred finished with a gentle kindness that resonated with the words spoken._

 _"I..." The words lodged themselves in Dick's throat and he had to blink away a few years that materialized out of nowhere. "I understand, Alfred. And I will." Dick took a deep breath, "thank you, Alfred."_

 _"Of course, my boy."_

 _"I guess I'll see you later then."  
_

 _"Until then, Master Dick."  
_

 _The phone call ended and Dick dropped the phone onto the bed. pressed the palm of his hands against his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath, before letting his arms fall from his face and returned to the screen of his laptop._

Dick is pulled out of his reminiscent thoughts by what sounded like an explosion. He pushed off his car, standing alert. He strained to listen for any more signs of danger, he could faintly hear shouts and screams of people in a panic. Seconds later a long line of emergency vehicle flew past the Nasty Burger, sirens blaring. Dick stayed rooted to the pavement in indecision.  
This was more than likely another "ghost attack" and Dick might be able to find who really is behind the attacks, if he left now to investigate. But it was already seven past one; Danny could be here any second. Dick couldn't miss this lunch with his brother. They've already had a rough start as it is. Dick didn't want to make things , almost twice as fast as the emergency vehicles what could have been either a tank or an RV that looked like it came out of a children's Sci-Fi skidded around the corner and disappeared down the same street towards the ruckus. Dick had been able to catch a glimpse of the FentonWorks logo on the side of the RV before it disappeared. His gut clenched with panic and dred. Why were the Fentons in a hurry to an emergency site? The first and most obvious explanation he could think of was that a family member was involved. And Danny was late.

But before his panic turned into action, a scrawny, black haired, and disheveled teenager with a purple backpack jogged into view from the direction the RV and emergency vehicles had disappeared. The young vigilante nearly sagged against his car in relief. But he kept himself composed and waved to get the teenager's attention. When Danny spotted him he gave a wave back and a nervous smile as he walked over.

If Dick had been alone and not in public he would have gone a tangent about how incredibly stupid he was. The Fentons were ghost hunters. The emergency was more than likely "ghost related." Of course they would be heading to the emergency site. Damian is right, he is worse than a mother hen.

"Hey," Danny greeted simply with a wheeze.

"Hi Danny, I saw your parents drive by; do you know where they were headed?" Dick wanted to know if his hypothesis was correct.

"To the mall, probably. There was.. an attack. At the mall." Danny rubbed the back of his head.

"An attack?" Dick eyebrows rose as he began to lead the way across the parking lot to the fast-food restaurant.

"Yeah," Danny nodded, following Dick at his side. "They're kind of common in Amity, but it's kind of rare for someone to actually get hurt. Most everyone in Amity thinks it's ghosts, but nobody outside of Amity seems to believe that."

"Huh," was Dick's response. It didn't slip past him that Danny had avoided his own opinion on the matter.

Dick pulled open the door to the Nasty Burger and a waft of grease and sauces assaulted his nose. When they stepped in, Danny groaned at the sight of the line of people waiting to order.  
They fell into silence as they got in line. The older of the two did his best to still his ever growing excitement. He had yet to wrap his head around the idea that his parents had had another child. Never mind the fact he was standing in line for fast food with said child. But with Alfred's words of wisdom from last night, he was able to keep from being over excited.  
They took a couple of steps forward as the line moved on. Dick took his eyes off of the menu over head and glanced down at his fidgety company. Danny's shoulder were tight and he was looking everywhere but at Dick.

As soon as they had gotten in line Danny had started to lose his confidence. As the silence stretched on for the eternity of three whole minutes, Danny was internally screaming at himself, reminding himself that not ten minutes ago he had kicked giant, man eating, octopus ghost butt. So, why wasn't he brave enough to start a conversation?

Before Danny could come up with anything to say, Dick asked him, "do you have any recommendations for what I should order?"

"Um, not really." Danny glanced up at the menu, trying to jog his memory. "I usually get the number three combo. But everything here is pretty good. Oh yeah! Don't order the Chilli Burger Supreme. It's delicious, but not really worth the time you end up spending in the bathroom. Tucker insists that it's the cheese they use, but I'm pretty sure it's the chilli."

Dick looked mildly concerned, whether the concern was over that it was still on the menu or that Danny had actually had it, Danny wasn't sure.

"Alright, good to know," Dick replied with a nod.

They lapsed back into silence as Dick looked back at the menu. Again Danny began to desperately search for something to ask Dick. He didn't want to ask about the circus. Well, he did, but that was way to close to the topic of their parents and Danny didn't want to start that yet. He also couldn't ask him about being a cop, because he wasn't sure if he was supposed to know that and he definitely didn't want Dick finding out that he had researched him. But the silence and his own cowardice were driving him crazy. He had to say something.

Just then, a group of what looked to be tourists poured into the restaurant all excitedly discussing what to do after lunch. Danny barely noticed the boisterous group as he was still mentally yelling at himself to get a grip and say something, anything.

Dick, on the other hand, couldn't help but take notice of the obnoxious group. More specifically the two teenagers who strategically entered the restaurant right behind the group, trying so hard to be inconspicuous that it was obvious. One of them had on a gray hoodie and sunglasses, while the other had on a black sweater and a baseball cap and also had on sunglasses. The two slyly slipped away from the tourists and into one of the nearby booths within earshot.

The people in front of them finished ordering and after Danny and Dick had finished ordering two number three combo meals, they stood off to the side and waited for their order.  
Dick was about his to ask Danny if he knew the two teens in the sunglasses as the teens were around Danny's age and were trying to stay out of Danny's line of sight as much as possible, but Danny suddenly blurted, "What was it like to be a honours student?"

The female teen with the sunglasses smacked her forehead and groaned as Dick's head snapped towards Danny in surprise. He was sure he hadn't talked about his schooling at all with the Fentons. Danny tried to keep his face innocent and calm, but Dick could see the swelling mortification.

Batman's protege rose an eyebrow and inquired, "how did you know I was an honours student?"

Danny turned a rather impressive shade of red and looked ready to accept his end happily. "I-I, uh," Danny struggled for an explanation, "looked you up, um... after, uh, you know, when I got to my friend's house.. yesterday." It was the truth.

Dick nodded, almost approvingly, as he grabbed the tray with their order. Dick needed to confirm his suspicions. He slyly looked at Danny, who was rooted to the spot. He was kind of enjoying the absolute humiliation and horror on Danny's face.

"Do you know my place of residence?"

Dick couldn't keep himself from laughing out loud when Danny bit his lip and visibly paled.

"Oh wow, you're good!" Dick was sincerely impressed. Not only had Danny appropriately researched him, as any member of the Wayne household would, but the research had been extensive and was good enough to throw Tim off his trail.

"Huh?"

"I'm impressed!" Dick told the dumbfounded teen as he found them a table, which happened to be right next to the two 'inconspicuous' teens, and sat down. Danny followed, slipping into the booth seat across from Dick. "You had to go a little further than a google search to get that kind of information," Dick beamed.

"You're not.. you know.. upset?"

"Of course not! I mean, I had to look you up, right?"

Danny's look of bewilderment melted in to a small smile. "Yeah, I guess you did. I hadn't thought about it like that."

There were a few beats of quiet as they unwrapped their straws and burgers and began to eat.

"So, to answer your question earlier: being an honours student isn't as great as people think it is."

Danny flushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"How's school going for you?"

Danny shrugged, "it's going good, I guess."

A snort from the booth behind Danny caused his face to drop in complete unamused irritation.

"Yeah, schools going great." Danny continued a little bit louder, "but I've got these two really annoying friends that never leave me alone."

"Hey!" Came an indignant protest as the kid in the black sweater poked his head over the booth. The kid took off the sunglasses and his cap and immediately replaced it with a red beret.

"And apparently, really bad at looking inconspicuous. I mean, really guys?"

"Hey, it worked until chuckles over here gave us away." Said the second teenager who was now standing at the end of their table with her hands on hips.

"At least I'm not as bad at starting conversations as Danny. I mean 'what's it like to be an honours student?' What was that?" Tucker mocked with a poor imitation of Danny and hopped over the back of the booth and slid in next to Danny, while Sam demanded that they move over and make room and sat on his other side.

"Talk to me when you've successfully talked to a girl, Tucker." Danny retorted with an eye roll, but his ears turned a deep pink.

"Hey! I am very successful with the ladies. I just haven't found Mrs. Right yet."

"AKA any girl that says 'yes.'"

Tucker gasped in horror at his friends retort.

"Anyway. Dick, I'm Sam. This is Tucker. We're Danny's best friends."

"Only friends." Tucker corrected.

"Arg, you guys!" Danny thumped his head onto the table next his burger.

"Right. Only friends. So, you should understand our caution and curiosity when he tells us he now has an older brother." She paused, daring him to state otherwise, before she continued,

"you're Dick Grayson, adoptive son of Bruce Wayne the billionaire, right?" Sam had her hands on the edge of the table and leaned forward, scrutinizing Dick shamelessly. Danny lifted his head and stared at her in exasperation.

Dick couldn't help but grin at the ridiculous introduction. He was happy that they interrupted. Danny had almost completely relaxed when he had realized his friends were with him.

"I am."

"Why'd it take you fourteen years to find Danny?" She asked bluntly, continuing to eye him, searching for something.

"Sam! Knock it off!" Danny grumbled under his breath. But the look he gave Dick pleaded for an answer. The kid wore his emotions on his sleeve in neon.

"It's okay, Danny. It's a fair question." Dick rubbed the side of his neck. "I... it's..." He sighed and let his hand drop and looked Danny in the eye. "This is going to sound weird, but I didn't really know you existed until a while ago. I never actually met you. My-our parents didn't tell me that mom was pregnant with you. And at the time I didn't really know... about that stuff, I just thought mom was sick. But she got better and I forgot about it. But this Spring, I saw a pregnant woman struggling to sit down and complaining about her back pains and I kind of just remembered mom doing the exact same thing.. I honestly don't know why they didn't tell me or why they left you. I've sent a message to Haley, the ring master, but they're doing a tour somewhere in Europe and he hasn't gotten back to me, yet."

Sam didn't seem completely satisfied, but gave a sharp nod and leaned back into her seat. Danny just nodded in acceptance as he let the new information sink in.

"So, you were really raised in a circus?" Tucker asked.

"Yup," Dick answered with a little pride.

"What was that like?" Sam perked up.

Danny's friends looked genuinely curious, while Danny looked... disturbed. Dick chose to ignore it for now and gave them a short summary of his time at the circus. He would have been more than happy to delve more into detail about the circus, but Dick kept it short; he didn't want to talk about himself, he wanted to talk about Danny. But after he had finished describing the circus life and before he could change the conversation topic off of himself, Tucker delightedly stated,

"so, I heard you got to meet the Fentons and spent like, three hours with them alone."

"Um, yeah?" Dick tilted his head in confusion at the teasing tone Tucker used and he wasn't sure he understood what he meant by 'alone.'

"They didn't bring out the picture albums did they?!" Danny gripped the edge of the table, knuckles turning white.

Now Dick understood.

"No, they didn't." He put on a thoughtful expression, "but I'll have to ask about them next time."

Sam and Tucker burst into laughter when Danny's jaw dropped in horror.

"I'll burn them," Danny decided with such determination Dick kind of thought he just might leave to burn them now.

"You wouldn't do that to your mom, would you?" Tucker helpfully asked, rubbing the laughter from his eyes. "You know how much she cherishes those albums."

Danny's determination crumpled and he slumped back into the booth seat.

"Don't worry, Danny. I'll make sure you have a chance to go through them first," Dick reassured the poor kid. "But I'll have you know, there is no way I'm not seeing them now."

Danny just miserably slouched further. Before any arguments could be made, Dick change the subject.

"So, what do you guys do in your spare time?"

Tucker choked on a fry he had stolen from Danny's meal, while Danny tensed up. Awkwardly straightening from his slouched position, Danny answered with a fake smile, "well, we definitely don't hunt-" Sam cut Danny off, resisting the urge to roll her eyes,

"we usually play Doom together, it's a MMO, or just we hang out. When we're not together, Tucker makes out with his PDAs-"

"Hey! Programming! I do programming!"

"I don't think your face has to be touching the PDA to be programming, Tuck." Danny pointed out with a sly grin that had a little leftover nervousness.

"That was one time you guys! One time!" Protested Tucker, angrily grabbed another fist full of fries, while Danny attempted to stop him, telling him to get his own fries.

"-and I," Sam continued, completely ignoring the boys, "like to garden. While Danny will read anything and everything on space and do any NASA stimulations he can get his hands on."

"You like space, Danny?"

"Yes!" Danny's head excitedly snapped in Dick's direction, while he still held Tucker's wrists. With a sudden yank, Tucker got his hands free and stole a fry from his newly distracted friend. "At first I just liked astronomy. But after that alien invasion a few years ago, the one where the Justice League totally kicked their butts back into space, I got into space travel and intergalactic exploration."

The look of interest Dick gave Danny was all the encouragement he needed to animatedly launch into the wonders and the many known and unknowns of space. Dick listened intently every so often asking questions or offering information, while the other two kind of zoned out as if they had already heard all this before. It surprised Dick how much Danny knew. Dick had been in space himself and personally knew several aliens and was still learning things from Danny's rambling.

"Okay!" Tucker clapped his hands together. "Not that all this isn't extremely exciting and not totally going over my head or that I don't support your astronaut dreams, but it's been like forty minutes and you're out of fries. Can we move on?"

"Oh, sorry guys." Danny smiled sheepishly.

"Tucker! Don't be rude!" Sam had spoken over Danny.

Tucker rolled his eyes and asked with a fake politeness, "can we talk about something else now, please?"

There was a thump under the table then Danny jumped and cried out, "aah! Sam! That hurt!"

"Oops, sorry Danny that was ment for Tucker. Move over so I can reach him."

"No, I'd rather not have our walking pace slowed down because of you giving Tucker a permanent limp. Besides I was getting a little carried away."

"Thanks man," Tucker whispered as he clutched Danny's arm and tucked his feet up.

Sam rolled her eyes and huffed out an easygoing, "whatever," and Tucker let go of Danny's arm and eased his feet back onto the floor.

"Okay then, new topic... what's your guys' favorite Justice League member?" Dick new asking this may be a little coincided, but he loved asking his civilian friends this question.

"Black Canary or Cyborg," Tucker answered instantly. He opened his mouth to continue, probably to explain his choices, but Danny caught his attention by nudging him. Danny then sent a nervous sideways glance at Sam, who was red in the face.

"Oh yes, who is our favorite members of the self righteous club of closed-minded adults that flaunt their abilities like big egotistical pigs that only fight for the fame and glory! With their stupid press conferences where everyone blindly believes every word that comes out of their pompous mouths."

Dick blinked a couple of times at the animosity Sam's voice held; she sounded just like an angry campaigner.

"Sam.." Danny tried to appease the fuming girl, but she wouldn't have it and she turned on him.

"No Danny! It's not right or fair how people worship them! It makes me sick." She threw her hands in the air.

Danny sent Dick an apologetic glance and silently shook his head when Dick opened his mouth to say something, telling him to just ride it out.

"Just because they are so thick headed and don't believe in the supernatural, everyone doesn't believe in the supernatural. And the city and you're parents have been made a laughing stalk to the entire world! And left... the city to deal with the ghost attacks on our own! There were a couple of times the city could have really used their help! But no! Ghosts don't exist! Because the thought of an after life is too deep for those shallow, tight wearing, cowards! So the attacks must be our imagination!"

She slammed her hands down on the table and an empty soda cup fell over and rolled off the

table. The hollow bouncing of the paper cup on the tile floor seemed to resonate across the silent restaurant.

Crossings her arms she grumpily sat back down. A light blush rose in her cheeks in embarrassment.

"New topic." She demanded, looking away from the group.

"I'm sorry for offending you, Sam," Dick sincerely apologized, "I should have known the Justice League would be a sensitive topic for those who live in Amity Park."

The apology only set her off again, "oh, it's not a 'sensitive' topic, it's a-"

Danny interrupted her with a nudge of his elbow and a meaningful, imploring look. Dick watched as they stared each other down in a silent conversation. Then Sam's fury completely deflated when Danny gave her a coaxing nod in Dick's direction.

"No, I'm sorry, Dick. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. It's just that-"

Danny raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's just that I personally don't like the Justice League." She finished in a resigned tone. Her coach gave an approving nod.

Dick couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. "I forgive you, Sam. I'm actually glad you expressed yourself. It's good to know your opinion."

Sam's face soured at the word 'opinion', but ultimately sighed and let it go with a, "thanks."

Then Tucker piped up, "hey Danny, have you asked him yet?"

"What? Oh." Danny shifted awkwardly in his seat. "No I haven't."

"Ask me what?" Folding his arms and resting them on the table, Dick leaned forward, putting some of his weight on them.

"Have you met the Batman?" Tucker asked immediately, leaning in with anticipation.

"Oh, that's it!" Sam stood up, "I'm getting myself a salad. I'll be back when you shallow bandwagoners are done oodling over pretend heroes. You guys want anything?" She asked with her fists firmly planted on her hips.

Wide eyed, all three of them shook their heads. She pivoted and stormed to the front counter.

"Oh, oh! Sam! Get me a Dr. Pepper!" Tucker called out to her. She didn't even look as she gave him a dismissive wave of her hand.

Tucker plumped back down into his seat. "Does that mean I'm getting a soda or not?"  
With a shrug of his shoulders, Danny hummed an 'I don't know' and turned his attention back to Dick.

"My favorite leaguer is the Green Lantern. He's basically a space cop. It's, like, the coolest thing ever."

"Okay," Dick furrowed his eyebrows together, "but why don't you guys share Sam's opinion? I mean, your parents were discredited by the League, weren't they?"

"They were... Sort of." Danny scratched the back of his head, "I mean it's not like a whole lot of people believed them anyways and the people that do, kind of think the Justice League are wrong about it. And I don't really blame the League for saying ghosts don't exist; it's kind of hard to believe, especially coming from my parents," he gave a small shrug, not making eye contact. Then he looked back up, "you did see them kicking alien butt, right? They're completely awesome! I mean, the bullying did get a little worse, because everyone at school thought that it was my parents fault that the League thought that the ghosts were a hoax. But I can't really blame them for that right?"

"Wait, you're being bullied?"

The fury in Dick's eyes caused both the boys to shrink back a little.

"Well, um, not really anymore... I mean, it's gotten a lot better sense, um.. recently." Danny's voice chose this moment to crack.

"It's gotten better?" Dick asked, his tone flat, completely unconvinced.

"Yeah," Tucker answered for Danny, "it used to be like everyone, but now it's just this one guy and even he has seriously layed off, recently."

"Really, Dick it's fine," Danny tried to appease his angry brother, feeling slightly guilty for upsetting him. "I've got it pretty much handled. You'll probably mess things up again if you get involved. Honestly, things are a lot better."

Dick let out a defeated sigh, "if you say so, Danny."

But the he sat up a little straighter and looked Danny in the eye. "But Danny, if the bullying ever starts again, or if 'this one guy' messes with you, you will give me a call, right?"

Danny nodded, though he wasn't really sure what his brother could do all the way from Bludhaven.

Dick nodded once, content with Danny's answer.

"So Dick, have you met the Batman?" Tucker reiterated.

"Why would you think I've met him?" His eyebrow went up, "Gotham's a big city."

"Well, when we where, um..." he sent a glance at Danny, "looking you up.. we found this old newspaper that said the Batman had been a part of your parents'... um, case. So, we thought that maybe you had met him during... that."

"Ah," Dick nodded understandingly, the leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. He contemplated his answer for a moment, then he looked back down at the expectant boys, who were leaning forward in their seats.

"I haven't really told anyone this, so don't go spreading it around, all right?"

The two nodded and leaned in even more.

"I did meet him."-Tucker took in a sharp breath-"I was being an idiot and I tried to go after our parents killer myself, by myself. Got into a tight spot and Batman showed up, saved my butt, and drove me back to Wayne Manner."

Danny and Tucker gaped in awe.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up." Tucker put his hands up in a stopping motion, "time out. Hold the phone. You," he pointed at Dick, "are you saying you have ridden in the Batmobile?!"

Dick smiled and nodded affirmative. He's actually driven it before, but he wasn't about to tell them that.

"No way..."

"Dude, what was he like?" Danny asked, face still slack with awe.

"Quite. He only spoke, like, nine words in total to me the whole time. And damn, he was intimidating; his facial expression never changed."

"You rode in the Batmobile with the Batman?" Tucker asked again.

And again, Dick just nodded and affirmative.

"What did he say to you?" Danny wondered.

"Um, 'are you hurt', 'get up', and 'what were you thinking'. If I remember correctly." Dick informed casually.

"Alright, I'm back." Sam announced as she handed Tucker his soda, who gave a cheer of pleasure when he spotted the drink. "You guys had better change the subject now, unless you want me to bring out my soap-box."

"But Sam, he's met the Batman!" Tucker wave his arms for emphasis.

Sam looked at Dick, finished chewing her mouthful of salad, then asked, "Did you punch him in the face?"

"Uh, no?" Not then anyway, he has actually landed one on the jaw of justice before, but again, he wasn't going to tell them that.

"Then I'm not really interested." She took another bite of salad.

"But Sam-"

"Not. Interested." She sent a warning glare at Tucker, who shrunk back.

After a few seconds of no one coming up with a new topic of conversation, Sam slammed her hands down on the table, making the two next to her jump. She pointed accusingly at Dick.

"Your dad's galas are the bane of my existence." She stated with such conviction that it caused Dick to blink, a little stunned, before he threw his head back laughing.

"S-sorry," Dick chuckled. "You-u just reminded me of someone else with the same opinion. You've been to one of Bruce's galas?"

"Yes, two of them. The first one was a nightmare. There was this kid that kept trying to talk to me. He even complemented the dress I was forced to wear, while eating Bluefin tuna. The second one wasn't so bad." She flashed a devilish smile. "I was able to get my parents to leave early."

Danny and Tucker's mouths hung open in horror.

"What did you do to the kid?" Tucker asked tentatively.

"Nothing! I just told him that I wasn't into rich pansys that devour the innocent."

"That was you!?" Dick lit up, "that was my brother, Tim! Hahaha! He didn't get over that for months! I mean, it didn't help when Jason, my other brother, kept bringing it up." He giggled,

"Jason thinks very highly of you, Sam."

"Wait, how many brothers do you have?" Danny asked, scrunching up his face.

"Three." Three voices told him.

Dick blinked and Sam and Tucker blushed.

"We looked this up remember, Danny?" Tucker tried reminding him.

"No..."

"Space cadet," Sam exclaimed under her breath, earning her a scowl.

Dick smiled, "well, I have three brothers: Jason, Tim, and Damian. I was actually thinking that, maybe, this summer you could come over to Gotham and meet them, Danny. If you wanted to."

Danny immediately looked uncomfortable, "um, I don't know..."

Dick felt a small stab in his chest.

"I mean, I've only been out of the state, like, three times and don't like to travel-"  
Tucker and Sam simultaneously smacked Danny over the head.

"OW! Hey!" Danny rubbed the side of his head that Sam had struck. Again, Dick watched as they had a silent conversation with only their eyes and facial expressions. Danny looked worried and Tucker and Sam looked completely serious and unmoving in their quiet argument. Danny looked back and forth between them and sighed.

"That would actually be really cool, Dick."

"Awesome," Dick smiled, not really convinced Danny wanted to come to Gotham.

From here they jumped from topic to topic for another hour. Until Dick had to leave to catch his flight home. They exchanged numbers and parted.

* * *

 **P.S. totally thought this chapter would be short and painstakingly hard to write... welp**


	5. Please Answer

**Hey readers, there's a little change in pace with this chappie.**

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE

PLEASE ANSWER

Dick groaned as he tossed the blankets off of himself. He rolled into a sitting position at the edge of the bed. Reading the alarm clock caused him to scowl in annoyance; it was one in the morning. Dick sat there, bouncing his knee, and tapping the edge of the bed for a solid minute before he suddenly pulled a laptop out from beneath the bed, set it on his lap, and switched it on. The Wayne Tech. laptop, that was clearly updated beyond what was on the market, quickly responded with a small ding and Dick pulled open Amity Parks local news channel. This was definitely not stalking his biological brother; he was doing research and watching for any clues as to who might be responsible for the Amity attacks. He definitely was not worried that it had been over a week- one hundred seventy five and a half hours -Dick had last seen or heard from Danny himself when Danny has been out of school for three days now. And he _definitely_ was not regretting giving Danny his number and telling him to call when he was ready. When the news channel came up it only displayed a "technical difficulties" apology and asked him to wait. Not really feeling like waiting, Dick hit the rewind button, having been recording the news since the last time he had watched it, four days ago. Then he snatched the cell phone off of the nightstand and left the laptop to rewind.

He stepped into the living room area. His apartment, well, suite , was large and open. The living room had a grand view of the murky Bludhaven skyline through a window that took up the entirety of the south wall. Dick liked his bachelor pad. He kept it spick and span and ready to host at any moment. Because, while he loved living on his own and having his own place, he really hated it. So, he kept it ready and made sure his friends knew that they were welcome to stay anytime. He didn't bother to turn on the lights as the lights of the city filtered through the window. The silence inside the suite stretched across the room and magnified the sound of the fridge opening. After a few minutes of spacy staring, Dick grabbed a container of leftovers from who-knows-when and tossed it into the microwave. The low, consistent, dull hum of the microwave eased the silence, but not quiet enough. After yawning into his fist, Dick sent a text to his brother, Tim.

 _'Are you awake?'_

The response came rather quickly,

 _'yes but I'm busy_.'

and a second later,

' _Bother the hellion. it isn't doing anythinfvdsil'_

Dick furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but before he could do anything, he got a text from Damian.

 _'Do not bother me, Grayson. Drake is a liar; I am currently occupied. Furthermore, if you are missing your brother so much, just call him already and quit bothering everyone else.'_

Dick couldn't help the snort that escaped him after reading the message. He put his phone down and went back to tiredly watching his food spin in slow circles. When he heard his phone, his not-bat-phone, Buzz from his bedroom over the hum of the microwave, he excitedly raced to his bedroom and leaped over the king sized bed and picked up the phone off of the night stand. His excitement deflated, it was just a drunk text from a colleague. He moodily punched out some advise and tossed the phone back onto the nightstand, then flopped face first onto the bed and groaned in frustration.

He was regretting telling Danny to call when he was done with school and ready to hangout again, letting Danny be the one to make second contact. It was only because Dick had been so busy that he hadn't lost self- control and called Danny first. A new gang had popped up out of nowhere in Bludhaven. They were all young, ambitious, and stupid. That was a dangerous combination for people with access to guns. They bit off way more than they could chew and stirred up an unbelievable amount of chaos for such a small gang. Dick spent most of his week either handing the young idiots over to the police if they had arrest warrants, or scaring the living hell out of those that didn't. He might not have worked so hard to get to the young gang before anyone else found them, if they hadn't been so young. More than half of them had been teens. But he had gotten to the last of them last night and he was sure that they would stay off the streets for at least a year, until they forgot about pissing their pants in fear of the vigilante that protected Bludhaven and went right back to it. Who knows, maybe they'll find another outlet and forget about a life of crime. Dick sighed as he could almost see Bruce's doubtful and almost pitying glance at his optimism.

Dick sat up and checked the laptop. His eyebrows rose in mild surprise; the computer had rewound about three hours and the technical difficulties apology was still on the screen. He hit the rewind button a few more times to speed it up.

Four hours.

Five hours.

Six hours.

He sped it up some more.

Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve hours.

He frowned and sped it up even more, until he couldn't get it to go faster.

Fifteen, nineteen, twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty-two, thirty-seven hours, it continued until around sixty-five hours ago. Dick almost flinched when the moving colors replaced the screen he had been staring at. He hit the play button and fast forwarded it back to the place the program was cut off. He watched the moving pictures intently, reading every word that came into the screen, watching for any warnings that they were going to shut down the studio for repairs or something. To his surprise though, nothing of the sort showed up. Instead, in the last few minutes before the (the) channel shutdown a ghost attack warning interrupted the regular program. Startled by what he saw, Dick rewound the news again to the beginning of the ghost warning.

The news reporter looked unaware of being live as he nervously watched the buildings behind him. They seemed to be covered in large vines and other plants, but the plants were all oddly blurred, so it was hard to tell what they actually were.

 _"Why do we have to get so close? I'm a weatherman, I shouldn't have to deal-"_

 _"We're live."_

 _"Amity Park citizens! Lance Thunder reporting that we are under attack, folks."_

A metallic screeching, like metal being torn, brought the reporters attention off screen. His eyes grew wide with horror.

 _"We have to get out of here!"_

 _"No, finish the report!"_ The camera man insisted.

" _G-ghost plants have taken o-over down town. We advise that everyone stay indoors. I re-repeat do not go outside. Throw out any plants y-you may- wait a minute, I'm getting an update... The plants seem to be targeting powerlines and cellphone towers. Oh, OH GOD! They're cutting us off!"_

 _"Lance, keep it together!"_

Just then a green... something grabbed onto Lance Thunder and he let out an undignified scream.

 _"LANCE!-"_

It cut back to the station.

 _"Citizens of Amity Park,"_ a lady addressed the camera, _"this is a level five emergency. Please, stay in your homes and wait for further instructions. Throw out any plants you have in your home. Do not go outside, this is a level five emergency. The ghost hunters, Jack and Maddie Fenton, have assured us that they will get things under control. But until then-"_

The apology came back onto the screen.

Dick sat there, completely dumbfounded. Was this a hoax? He had seen them report on ghosts before, but it was never anything like this and three days was a long time for a hoax. Dick dove for his phone and punched in the number for FentonWorks.

The line was disconnected.

He called Maddie's cell.

The number was no longer in service.

Jacks cell.

The number was no longer in service.

Dick gave himself no room to panic. He immediately went into action. He downloaded to the news report onto his phone, grabbed his shoes, keys, helmet, and jacket, then called one more number.

"Bruce, there's a problem."

* * *

Danny groaned at the morning sun lighting up his room. He moved to pull his blankets up to block out the light, but grunted and stopped short. His muscles ached from the multiple day fiasco and from not moving at all during his miniature hibernation. Apparently receiving a butt kicking, nearly freezing to death, training with Frostbite, taking another butt kicking, then using all of one's strength and ghostly energy to destroy a giant killer plant takes its toll.

He knew the creaky stiffness in his limbs would not allow him continue his blissful sleep. Blinking away the hazy blur from his eyes, he focused on the unfamiliar ceiling. It took him longer than he'd care to admit, to figure out why the ceiling was unfamiliar. But he eventually remembered that FentonWorks was currently uninhabitable thanks to the rotting vines that currently occupied it and its lack of electricity and running water, also thanks to the rotting plants. He and his family had gotten a room in a motel just outside of the city limits. They had been pretty lucky to find a room since half of Amity Park was in the same boat they were in. Danny had been eternally grateful yesterday when they had been able to find a place to stay relatively quickly. As soon as his mom unlocked the door to their room Danny had found the nearest bed and conked out for the night.

Despite his protesting joints, Danny slowly sat up. He was a little surprised to find that he had been sleeping on top of the comforters still fully clothed. He thought for sure he had at least changed his clothes. Must have been more out of it than he thought. Someone had taken off his socks and shoes and had given him an extra blanket. And he was wearing a red hoodie he couldn't remember putting on.

Danny lazily took in his surroundings. The only exists were the front door to his left and the window next to it. There was a small pathetic excuse of a kitchen in the corner along with a door on the far wall that Danny assumed to be the bathroom. The room had two queen sized beds with forest green comforters and matching pillows. His mom and dad occupied the bed furthest from the door, while he and his sister had the other. If he hadn't been so sore, Danny would have begun protesting loudly at sharing a bed with his sister. But instead he just silently promised to never speak of it to anyone. On the bedside table in between the beds a digital clock told him it was six thirty in the morning. A small piece of his not-yet-fully-functional brain did a happy jig at the news that he had gotten at least thirteen hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ever since the accident he hasn't needed as much sleep, so thirteen hours of sleep was a miracle. But the rest of his brain blissfully longed for a hot shower to ease his stiff muscles.

Hobbling like an old man, he crawled out of bed, dug through his bag for a new set of clothes and his tooth brush, and shuffled into the bathroom. After completing his morning ritual he made his way to the shower. After a bit of finagling with the knobs, he managed to get the his usually desired temperature. He stripped his clothes, caught sight of himself in the mirror, and suddenly remembered putting on the hoodie. At some point in the battle yesterday, Undergrowth had managed to knock him into changing back to human, then tried to squeeze the life out of him. Sam had made him wear it to hide the bruises that decorated his arms and torso...

He frowned at the green and purple blotches. They hadn't faded as much as he would have liked. Turning from the mirror, he tentatively stepped into bathtub, closing the sliding glass door. A confused frown played on Danny's face. The hot water was not helping his muscles relax. In fact, the hot water felt incredibly uncomfortable. It wasn't like the water was burning hot, it was just unpleasant. Danny turned the hot water knob down just a smidge, then down some more. He surprised himself to find that the colder the water was the better it felt. Wanting to experiment with how far this would go he shut the hot water off completely. As the water dropped below his body temperature, he let out a content sigh.

 _'It's gotta be my ice core. Man, this is weird. It feels sooo gooooood...'_

Ten minutes of soaking in freezing water later, Danny felt better than ever. He used his intangibility to dry himself off, letting the excess water fall into the tub. Exiting the bathroom fully clothed, Danny was happy to find everyone still asleep. He quietly slipped his shoes on, grabbed his backpack, and wrote a note saying he was going to Sam's house, which was in one of the few neighborhoods that were unaffected by the attack, ironically enough. He was technically telling the truth. He, Sam, and Tucker planned to celebrate not dying today, just not at seven in the morning. But after his cold shower, he felt rejuvenated and wanted to go flying and maybe experiment with his new ice powers, as well as help with cleaning up the aftermath.

Knowing that his parents had probably set up some kind of ghost defenses, Danny slipped out the door like a normal human into the morning air. He carefully shut the door, hoping against hope that he didn't wake his dad and cause a scene. Tiptoe-ing away from the door, Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good morning, little badger. I'm glad you're awake."

Danny took in a sharp gasp and pivoted, immediately shifting into Phantom and pulling up a defensive stance. An arm grabbed him from behind and pulled him into a choke hold, lifting him off the ground. He lifted his arm to elbow his attacker in the stomach, but pink smoke filled his vision and the world began to spin. The pink smoke cleared as quickly as it came. But Danny's vision spun, making him light headed and queasy. The arm holding him up suddenly dropped him. Miraculously, he managed to land on his feet as the floor tipped dangerously. Before he could fully recover, his body was racked with a blinding hot pain, cutting through his bones and crawling across his skin. He involuntarily let out a strangled cry that cut short as his lungs seized up and refused to suck in air. Then the pain left.

Danny crumpled to the floor, too dazed to notice the plush red carpet or the pristine white ceiling. He was only faintly aware of the click of a lock and soft footsteps approaching him. Someone knelt down beside him and placed a firm hand on his chest.

"Breathe, Daniel, Breathe." A familiar, calm, and smooth voice told him.

He hadn't realized he still wasn't breathing. After a few unsuccessful tries, he sucked in as much air as his lungs could hold, before letting it out in a coughing fit. The hand left and the figure next to him stood and walked back a few steps.

"Hahaha! You have to give me one of those, Plasmius." A deep mechanical voice laughed.

"No, I really don't."

Danny still hadn't completely recovered, but he sat up anyway. Danny hated getting electrocuted. It always sent him into a slightly panicky state and made him sick to his stomach. His aching lungs and his beating heart indicated that he was back in his human form, but it was the sight of his red tennis shoes that confirmed it for him. He shot a glare at his attacker.

"What the hell, Vlad?"

The business man sighed, placing his hands behind his back.

"Language, Daniel."

Danny's glare intensified as he got to his feet.

"Oh, do calm down, Daniel. I just want to talk."

"What? You get bored of playing chess by yourself?" -The billionaire's eye twitched.- "And if you really just wanted to talk why'd you hit me with a train and why is Skulker here? W-where is here?" It finally registered that he was no longer at the motel. He was now in a large room with ceiling high book shelves covering most of the walls. The only exits were a set of large wooden French doors on one side of the room, and two huge windows with heavy red curtains behind an extravagant desk with several neat stacks of paper. In front of one of said windows Skulker floated with his arms crossed, looking incredibly smug. It didn't take Danny long to figure out how he got here; Plasmius had teleported with him. This put Plasmius at a whole new level of creepy in Danny's book. He tried to hide his rising discomfort, but the idea that he could be in Wisconsin made it difficult.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "We're in my office. And I didn't hit you with a train; I electrocuted you with the Plasmius Maximus, because I need to talk with you and I don't have time for one of your childish fights. I have been up all night dealing with the mess Amity is in." He held the small device up and placed it on the desk, confirming to Danny that he was not only stuck in his human form, but also cut off from all of his powers. Danny didn't like how Vlad hadn't specified which office they were in. He ignored the icy apprehension twisting in his gut.

"And why I am here is none of your business, Whelp."

"What'd you do? Sup it up to knock out an elephant?" Danny ignored Skulker to piss him off and wipe the smug look off his face. It worked. "We're not in Wisconsin are we?"

"Daniel, tell me what happened in the last three days." Vlad demanded.

Danny bristled at the unanswered question, but let it go when Vlad's words sunk in. Danny searched Vlad before answering him.

"Do you seriously not know what happened? You're the mayor-!"

"Just because I am the mayor of this... _fine_ city, does not mean that I do not have other responsibilities to attend to. Now, if you please, tell me what has happened."

Danny crossed his arms and glared. "I don't have to tell you anything, you crazy old Fruitloop."

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose as a blood vain on his forehead bulged. Skulker growled and started to advance. Which made Danny stiffen and prepare himself for a fight, but Vlad put up his hand, telling Skulker to stop. Then he looked up at Danny and gave him a face that clearly stated 'no more nonsense'.

"For some reason, the Justice League as noticed this last ghost attack, along with the rest of the world, and as mayor I need to give them an explanation. So, tell me what happened and I'll take you back to the motel."

Danny blinked. And blinked again.

"The Justice League is coming to- wait a minute! What do you mean 'for some reason'?! The entire city was taken over by giant man eating plants for three days! How could they not notice?!" Danny threw his hands in the air as he pointed out the obvious.

He received an eye roll from Vlad and an amused chuckle from Skulker. Danny's eyebrows dropped in irritation and confusion. He hadn't missed something, had he?

"The same reason they haven't noticed before; people have a natural aversion to the supernatural, Daniel, and they tend to turn a blind eye to it unless it is staring them in the face. I don't know what has caught the league's attention this time, and quite frankly, I don't care, because they will not accept the truth. They will look for a way to explain away the events of the last three days and then be on their way, just like last time." Vlad explained in an incredibly bored tone.

"Then why do you need to know what happened?" Danny glared.

"The best lies are closest to the truth."

Now Danny was thoroughly confused. "Wait, you're going to lie to them? But I thought you..."

Danny wasn't really sure what he had thought. But it had sounded like Vlad was going to try and tell them the truth.

"Daniel, they won't believe the truth, so I'm going to give them something they will believe," the businessman explained slowly as if he was talking to a five-year-old.

"I'm not going to help you lie to the Justice League," he said with finality, then turned and marched for the door. He pulled on the doorknob only to find it locked. His stomach dropped and his hands became sweaty as the feeling of being trapped battled to completely take over. Danny angrily turned back around to an annoyed looking Vlad and a very smug Skulker, and crossed his arms.

"Let me out, Plasmius."

With slow and methodical steps the older hybrid began to cross the unnecessary large office.

"I will, as soon as you tell me what happened. I'll even bring you back to the motel, if you wish." He finished his journey with a smirk, towering over Danny. He had forgotten how tall Vlad was.

It took all of Danny's willpower not to step back, away from the man, and press himself against the door. He set his jaw defiantly.

"No."

Vlad blinked, then set his own jaw as his eyebrow twitched. Danny involuntarily let out a small surprised yelp when Vlad lifted him off his feet and harshly slammed him against the mahogany doors in one fluid motion. The man's forearm forcefully pinned him, causing the contents of his backpack to painfully dig into his back, keeping him off the ground and eye level with the angry halfa.

"No?" Vlad demanded for clarification through clenched teeth.

Danny glared right back, even though it was hard to breathe and he was sure Vlad could feel his heart hammering away. A plan of escape slowly formed in Danny's brain. While there was a good probability that it would be successful, he briefly wondered if he should; it was a little unorthodox and the consequences would be extreme if it didn't work.

"I'm not going to help a sad, lonely, old, Packers fanatic, that can't get over his high school crush lie to the Justice League," he spat out in defiance.

After a few agonizingly long seconds of watching Vlad's face contort with fury and his eyes burn with hell fire, Vlad shifted into Plasmius. Looking into the glaring red eyes that promised pain, Danny immediately regretted not keeping the insults out of his refusal. Plasmius brought up his hand and electricity threateningly cackled between his fingertips.

"Listen here, you little rat-!"

Any qualms Danny had over his escape plan left him. Not letting the man finish the angry rant, Danny set his plan into action and brought his shin up as fast and as hard as he could between the man's legs.

The electricity dissipated and a pained wheeze escaped the billionaire. The pressure on Danny's chest left as Vlad stiffly stumbled back. Danny wasted no time and as soon as he hit the floor, he whipped out one of his parents' ectoplasmic blasters from a hidden side pocket in his backpack.

Finally catching up to what had happened, Skulker roared, "Cowardly little Whelp!" Brandishing a glowing machete.

Danny blasted Skulker in the chest, knocking him back into the wall. Then he shot at the curtain next to Skulker, causing the curtain to burn and the glass behind it to shatter. Before he could make another move, a large, angry hand painfully grabbed his arm. Danny only reacted, he didn't think when he immediately blasted his captor in the face at point blank range. Vlad cried out in shock and clutched his face in pain. Danny dashed for the mahogany desk and grabbed the Plasmius Maximus.

Skulker lifted himself up with a vicious growl. Danny jammed Vlad's weapon into the hunters stomach, short circuiting the robotic suit. As soon as the metal clunked to the floor Danny sped past him and took a flying leap through the burning curtains and out the window. His eyes widened as he realized he was much higher up than he had expected. Apparently they had been on the third floor. The grass rushed up to meet him. He tucked his shoulder in and rolled across the grass on impact. He was suddenly very grateful for all the mishaps he used to have with his powers.

Danny Stood up and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Amity's streets just beyond a fancy, climbable, fence. Not wasting any more time, Danny shoved the Plasmius Maximus in to the pocket of his hoodie and hoisted himself over the fence. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he ran.

Vlad grunted in pain as he gingerly lifted himself off the floor. Black rings enveloped his body shifting him back to his human half and the blistering burn on his face faded into a faint, pink blotch. Fury, rage, and his injured pride demanded action, but Vlad calmed himself with a deep breath. He then carefully straightened his suit, smoothed back his hair, and dusted invisible dirt off his shoulders. Once finished he squared his shoulders and looked around the room. A smile split across his face when he caught sight of Skulker. The little badger was improving.

A hatch in Skulker's suit flung open and the small ghost crawled out, fuming.

"Don't worry, Plasmius. I can have my suit running in five minutes, then we'll clobber the little brat."

Vlad walked past Skulker and peered through the window; there was no sign of Danny anywhere. Without even looking, Vlad conjured up an ectoplasmic shield and smothered the flames eating away at his curtains, as he strolled back to his desk.

"There's no need, Skulker. He's gone."

There was a quiet pause as Skulker watched, completely dumbfounded, as Vlad sat down at his desk and began going through his paperwork.

"Huh, Plasmius?"

"Hmm?" Vlad responded without looking up.

"Um, what... why aren't we going after the whelp?"

"Because I got what I wanted and I have work to do. Now, finish repairing your armor. I called for you for a reason."

"Huh..." Skulker stared, not really comprehending, at his employer.

Vlad heaved and an irritated sigh through his nose and looked up from his desk.

"Skulker, I called you, because I need you to find Undergrowth."

"So, you know what happened?"

"Of course I know!" He snapped. "And I highly doubt Daniel and his friends knew how to actually deal with the little weed. It's more than likely he's hidden himself away, regaining energy to attack again. But I will be busy taking care of our guests. So, I will need you to track him down and return him to the Infinite Realms, without being seen. I got what I needed from Daniel, there's no need to trouble ourselves with him for now. You can handle that, hmm?" Vlad wore a condescending smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Plasmius... you do realize he took the Plasmius Maximus, right?"

Vlads face dropped and his eyes widened.

"Butter biscuits!"

* * *

Danny's tennis shoes pounded the pavement in a fast paced rhythm. He knew he was making the people on the street cleaning up after the plants nervous, he could see it in their questioning glances and how they paused what they were doing as he passed. In Amity, if you see someone running like their life depended on it, it probably meant there was a ghost attacking nearby and after this weekend it only made sense that Amity's citizens would be a little more weary. But their lack of understanding and lack of screaming told Danny that he wasn't being followed by any angry, revenge seeking ghosts. This made Danny smirk and dart into an alleyway to catch his breath. Vlad had used the Plasmius Maximus on him, that meant he had no ghost signature, which meant that if Vlad and Skulker hadn't been able to follow him then they would have no way of tracking him and finding him.

Leaning with his back against the brick wall in the alley, Danny struggled to breathe. A triumphant smile slowly stretched across his face. He gradually slid down the wall, his hoodie getting awkwardly pulled up by the bricks, until he was sitting in the grainy dirt on the pavement. A short giggle escaped him. The short giggle turned into snort, which turned into uncontrolled bouts of laughter. Once he managed to catch his breath for a second he disbelievingly stated,

"I kicked him in the balls."

Which only caused him to lose it again. He gripped his sides and nearly fell over sideways. With tears streaming down his face his half- crazed smile morphed into an expression of horror.

"I kicked him in the balls."

For a moment the sounds of the bustling city and a couple of pigeons nearby echoed through the quiet alley. Horns honked and people shouted.

Danny breathed into the empty alley, "I am so dead."

But Danny's choice of words sent him into another round of hysterics. Eventually he hoisted himself up and dusted the grime off his pants. Then he fished out his prize of the morning out of his hoodie: The Plasmius Maximus.

"Plasmius Maximus," He scoffed, "I'm not calling it that. He's worse at naming things than Dad is. I mean, at least the names Dad uses don't sound like names for a male stripper."

After turning the device in his hands a few times, he looked around the alley for a hiding place. When he didn't find a place he felt comfortable with leaving the weapon, he carefully stashed it in his backpack. Maybe he could hide it at Tuckers house, which was relatively undamaged during the attack, for a while, just until he was sure Vlad wouldn't show up looking for it.

Casually exiting the alley, Danny headed in the direction of his best friend's house at a steady pace. It was going to be a long walk.

* * *

"Hi Mrs. Foley, is Tucker up?" Danny asked politely from the doorstep.

The sun had risen considerably and was now beating down with beautiful blue skies. The smell of burning leaves filled the air. There were several places where pillars of white smoke stretched high over the city, dissipating into the atmosphere. A miniature plume of smoke rose from the Foley's backyard.

"Good morning Danny, Tucker isn't up yet, but I was just about to wake him," Mrs. Foley responded with a frown on her kind face. She had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and she wore a faded pink apron.

"Isn't it dangerous to be walking about so soon after... Well, you know..." She trailed off.

"Oh, um, the all clear was given, so it's safe enough."

At least he was fairly sure the city gave an all clear. His parents wouldn't have been in the motel if there was a chance of any ghosts still being in town.

"If you say so, dear," Mrs. Foley nodded uncertainly with a small smile, opening the door wider and ushering him in. "Please, come in and help yourself to some breakfast; it's all set out on the kitchen counter."

"Thank you, Mrs. Foley!" Danny smiled brightly at her.

Danny dropped his backpack in the hallway and tried not to run into the kitchen like a starving stray dog, but whatever breakfast was smelled amazing. Bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes if his nose was correct.

He greeted Mr. Foley, who sat neatly in his chair at the kitchen table with an empty plate and newspaper. The sleeves to his button up shirt were also rolled up and he wasn't wearing the sweater vest he usually wore.

Danny's stomach complained loudly when he caught sight of the steaming plates of food all lined up neatly on the counter. It was this moment that he realized that the last time he ate was with Frostbite yesterday and while the meals with in the Far-Frozen had been filling, they weren't exactly tasty.

Mr. Foley laughed, "If you're wanting to tame that beast in your belly, you better do it fast, before Tucker comes down."

Danny flushed and said, "you don't have to tell me twice."

He filled a plate with food and sat at the table with Mr. Foley.

"DANNY!" Tucker's muffled voice called angrily, "YOU BETTER NOT HAVE TAKEN THE LAST OF THE BACON!"

Mr. Foley rose an amused eyebrow at his son's best friend as he suddenly started to shovel the bacon on his plate into his mouth. Thundering footsteps down the stairs only encouraged him to shovel faster. Tucker appeared in the doorway and took only a second to take in the sight of Danny with a mischievous grin obscured by a mouth full bacon, before he roared and charged at his friend. Danny launched out of his seat, nearly knocking the chair over and fled the kitchen with Tucker in hot pursuit.

Mr. Foley only shook his head and went back to his four- day old paper. There was a thump and a bang and Danny's panicked voice came from the living room, "Tucker! Tucker Wait! Stop! There's more bacon on the counter! There'sMoreBaconOnTheCounterISWEAR! THERESMOREBACONANDSAUSAGEONTHECOUNTER!"

"Tucker! He's telling the truth!" Mr. Foley said as he turned the page.

There was another thump and a muffled, "Ow" before Tucker grumpily marched back into the kitchen and up to the counter. Danny soon returned to his spot at the table rubbing his side of his head with a faint victorious smirk.

After breakfast was finished, thank you's were said, and dishes were rinsed, Danny grabbed his backpack, and the two boys headed up to Tuckers room. As soon as the latch clicked shut, Danny's mood shifted and he said,

"You will not believe what happened this morning."

Tucker shoved some dirty clothes aside with his foot as he made his way to the bed to sit and looked warily at Danny, who began to pace agitatedly.

"You don't have another brother, do you?"

"What? No!"

"Hey! That's how you opened that conversation last time!"

"No, Plasmius attacked me this morning!" Danny hissed under his breath after sending a quick glance at the door.

"What? Are you okay?" Tucker whispered back, wide eyed.

A proud smirk spread across his face. "Yeah, I kicked his butt."

The smirk deflated a little when Tucker only looked at Danny searchingly.

"Isn't Plasmius a lot stronger than you?" Tucker asked, no longer whispering.

"Wha-? No! Well, a little!" Danny crossed his arms and huffed, "I'm telling the truth, Tucker."

Tucker held his hands up in a placating manner. "Okay, okay, I believe you. It's just that you haven't been able to beat him before, so I was wondering."

Thinking that Tucker may have lost it, Danny's voice rose an octave has he protested, "I have too!"

"Uh, no, you haven't."

"Yes, I have!"

"No, you haven't!" Tucker shouted as he stood up with clenched fists.

Irritation bubbled inside of Danny's chest.

"Um, are you thick? Or are you just forgetting the two months we spent chasing Plasmius through the time stream, kicking his butt?"

"That doesn't count!"

"What?! Why not?!"

"BECAUSE! We never really beat him! We just messed up his plans over and over! But we never really got him! It was Frostbite and the map that beat him! Japan was the closest we got to beating him, but he still got away!"

Danny opened his mouth several times to argue, but nothing came out the first couple of tries.

"What about when me and Jazz fought him and won?"

"You guys didn't win!"

"What?! Yes we did!"

"Then why isn't that creep in jail!?" Tucker threw his hands in the air. "If you had beaten him, he wouldn't be a problem any more! He wouldn't be the Mayor and he wouldn't be in charge of a multibillion dollar company!"

The words felt like a slap across the face. Danny heard the wobbly fear in his best friend's voice, past the anger, and he could only stand there frozen and wide eyed.

Tucker watched, with growing horror at what had just been said, as a series of emotions flickered across Danny's stunned face: Shock, fear, guilt, hurt, and anger.

"Danny, I am so sor-"

"Let's go get Sam. I don't feel like telling what happened this morning twice." Danny sharply interrupted, glaring at the green wallpaper. He shrugged off his backpack and ripped it open.

"Danny, I-"

"Could you hide this in your house for a while?" He stiffly asked, holding out the stolen device.

Tucker tentatively took it from his friend and turned it around in his hands.

"S-sure... What is it?"

"It's the Plasmius Maximus," Danny answered, "I managed to swipe it when I got away."

Tucker stared at the device wide eyed for a few seconds, then Danny left the room. Tucker sighed and shoved it under his mattress.

"I am such an idiot."

The boys barely stepped off of the Foley property when Sam came sprinting towards them.

"Tucker, I've been texting you like crazy! What took you guys so long? My mother has been..." Sam slowed to a stop in front of them.

"Uh, sorry Sam.. the plants got my cellphone..." Tucker trailed off.

"Oh my god, you guys are worse than a pair of lovers."

Danny and Tucker shared an awkward glance and Sam rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

"C'mon, let's get to the Nasty Burger, before my mom figures out I'm gone and calls your parents. Then. We'll work this out," she jabbed her finger at the two of them.

* * *

Turns out the Nasty Burger was closed for maintenance. So they took off towards the park. Finding somewhere secluded to sit had been surprisingly difficult with all the clean up and construction going on, but they eventually found a spot next to the, now busted, fountain. The three of them sat on the concrete, sun baked, rim of the fountain with Sam in the middle, looking completely irritated at the two glum boys.

"So," Sam began, "how'd you guys hurt each other's feelings this time?"

They both immediately answered, "I said something stupid."/ "I don't want to talk about it."

Tucker turned completely towards his friend. "Danny, listen. I didn't mean it, I swear. I'm just still freaking out over the mind controlling plants that tried to eat us, and Plasmius creeps me out, and I don't know... I'm sorry I lost it on you.."

Danny sighed and met Tuckers pleading gaze, "It's okay, Tuck. I guess I'm still kind of freaking out too and... I get it; Vlad is creepy."

"Thanks, man."

"Okay!" Sam suddenly stood up, "now, before you start hugging and crying, let's move on."

She spun around sharply, "Danny, care to explain why you couldn't go ghost to find us a spot to chat?"

"Um, well, after I got up this morning..." With that Danny began to recount the events of the morning and this time they hardly interrupted.

"Let me get this straight," Sam said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "you didn't answer him, kicked him in the junk, broke his window, and stole a weapon from him and then you went to Tuckers house... because he couldn't track you by your ecto signature?"

"Um. Yes?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Sam slugged Danny over the head.

"OW! What was that for?!"

"YOU'RE LUCKY PLASMIUS WASN'T ACTUALLY CHASING YOU! BECAUSE TUCKER'S HOUSE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE OF THE FIRST PLACES HE WOULD HAVE SEARCHED FOR YOU!"

Both Danny's and Tucker's jaws dropped open in horror.

"Danny... If.. if Plasmius had come to my house..."

"Tucker, I am so sorry! I didn't even think-!"

"...I would have missed breakfast."

Sam let out a shout of aggravation and hit Tucker over the head. "I swear! Being friends with you two is worse than hanging out with a pair of two year olds!"

"Ow, Sam, quit hitting!" Tucker whined, but only received another whack. "Owie!"

Sam stopped mid-strike, about to hit Tucker for the pitiful response to the last hit. "Danny?"

Danny sat, leaning forward, glaring worriedly at the ground.

"Why didn't he chase me? He and Skulker were really angry when I left... Why didn't he come for the Plasmius Maximus?" he looked up at his friends.

They all began to think hard on the current puzzle, when Tucker suggested, "Maybe he had a meeting?" while he himself didn't believe it.

"Oh." Danny blinked a couple of times. "I forgot to tell you guys. He did have a meeting he was preparing for..."

The excitement building in Danny's tone drew in his friends' full attention.

* * *

 **Kay so, all y'all need to go and thank Is-this-a-good-name. If it wasn't for her I probably would have given up on writing fanfiction and left all your butts hanging. She has been the very best in helping me brainstorm ideas for plots and characters. She has been successfully fueling my enjoyment of writing these stories. Remember when I said I had a sort-of plot? I now have an actual plot and it's all thanks to Is-this-a-good-name.**

 **Thank you, Is-this-a-good-name!**

 **Adulting is hard you guys. A word of advise, try and learn how to adult before it's necessary for your survival.**

 **Date posted: 05-22-17**


	6. The Real Heroes

CHAPTER SIX

THE REAL HEROES

"Okay, this should be easy then," Sam contemplated while lightly pinching her chin. "We'll just hang out at my house until they're gone."

Tucker jumped out of his stupor, quickly getting to his feet. "Are you insane?! This our chance to meet a super hero!"

"We're best friends with a super hero, Tucker."

"Danny doesn't count! I mean a real, famous and liked super hero. No offense, Danny."

"Literally all of the offense has been taken," Danny immediately responded with a flat glare.

"Tucker's right about them being famous, though. And do you know what happens when famous people visit a small city? Crowds. Crowds of shallow idiots. So, let's stay at my house, or at least away from them, until they leave."

"You guys aren't understanding! This is our chance to show them that ghosts are real!"

"Why would we want to do that? They'd just get involved and ruin everything."

Danny ignored her and continued, "once the effects of the PM wears off, I can just fly up to them and say, 'hey guys, I'm a ghost. Ghosts are real and there are a couple of them that want to take over the world. So just, be prepared.' And then they'd buy some of mom and dad's equipment, save the day and prevent the Earths domination, and I might even be recognized as a hero for informing them of the threat!"

"Again, I'm going to say, they'd just ruin everything." Sam emphasized.

Danny looked her in the eye and suddenly, Sam wasn't looking at the friend. She made in the playground all those years ago. She was looking at a man with a teenagers face. She would never tell to anyone of the small butterflies she got from his gaze.

"Sam. I nearly lost this time."

Tucker started to protest, but he didn't get the chance to make a sound when Danny cut him off.

"I ran away for crying out loud! I left you guys in Undergrowth's hands! I-I was scared of coming back. I didn't want to come back to find..." Danny dropped his head to hid behind his hair, "to find… that I took too long or that I still wasn't strong enough…"

His head snapped up and he continued as if the mood hadn't become so dreary. "Imagine if Frostbite hadn't found me and I froze to death in the Ghost Zone. Who knows how long it would have been before the Justice League caught on to Undergrowths attack, and who knows how long it would take them to figure out what Undergrowth was and how to stop him! They are practically defenseless against ghosts right now! We can't let the Justice League be taken off guard by a ghost attack. We have to tell them. We can't keep pretending like I'm strong enough to keep all of the ghosts at bay by ourselves. And what if I…if I…" Danny swallowed, then quickly asked, "what if I get hypnotized again? Whose going to stop me? Vlad? No. We have to tell them, you guys."

Danny waited for a response in a long stretch of heavy silence. Tucker and Sam looked at each other, then glanced away. Both of them disturbed by the images Danny's rant had imposed.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to do this, with or without you guys."

"Yeah, we know Danny," Sam sighed. "What do plan on doing?"

Danny smirked. "Like I said a minute ago, just wait for the PM to wear off and then-"

"Just be like, 'tada! I'm a ghost! We exist! Yay!'" Sam mockingly threw her hands in the air.

"Yes. Basically, but with a little less sarcasm."

"Hate to break it to you Danny, but I don't think that's going to work. It's only been two hours since Vlad hit you with the PM and I don't think it's going to take the JL another hour to get here. And I can bet you a million bucks that Vlad is going to make sure to set up preventative measures to keep you from doing just that. I mean, if Vlad is with them when you show up, it's going to be your word against his."

Danny groaned and muttered, "I hate Plasmius," before straightening up and saying, "we have an hour, we'll figure something out."

"Riiight. But for now, Tucker, go home and rehide the PM."

"Why?!"

Danny blinked at Sam in confusion.

"Because, Tucker, under your mattress is the first place Vlad would check."

"How did you kno-"

"Ask your dad to keep it in his sock drawer or something. Vlad isn't going to look in your parents room, trust me; I hide things from my parents in Grandma Ida's room all the time."

Sam, Tucker, and Danny, after Tucker followed Sam's suggestion, scrambled to devise a plan on how to get to the Justice League members and how they would get them to listen. Twenty minutes after the trio left the fountain in the park, the Justice League arrived in Amity and immediately went to the courthouse to meet with the mayor, the police force, and the fire department. It was seventy minutes after that, the trio realized that Plasmius had upgraded the PM device; Danny had yet to regain his powers and he showed no signs of regaining them anytime soon. It took Tucker and Sam another twenty minutes to calm Danny down out of his brash angry panic. From there, Tucker asked Danny if he had any ghosts in his thermos that they could show the League members. Which caused Danny to excitedly remember that he did, in fact, have a couple of ectopuses from the night before Undergrowth attacked.

Danny hadn't realized how many police officers Amity had, but it seemed that the whole of Amity Park's police department was here. All of them guarding the flimsy, portable fence that had been hastily set up as a barrier to keep the citizens and the absurd number of reporters and cameramen away from the courthouse and the jet casually parked in the front lawn. The crowd that held quick, thrown together signs of praise and protest quietly murmured in excited anticipation. Danny was sure that they didn't have that many news stations in Amity. The trio had squeezed their way through to the front and now gripped the fence to keep their spot as people bumped and pressed into them.

"So, um... Danny, what's the plan?" Tucker asked, looking highly uncomfortable with the vast number of people within close proximity.

"I don't know yet," Danny replied, not taking his glare off the front doors, where he was sure the Justice League members would emerge.

"We might want to come up with something quick. Something tells me that if Vlad has his way, the League won't be here long." Despite her dislike for the Justice League, Sam's voice held worry.

"I know that, Sam. But it's a little hard when there are so many guards and people!" came the snappish response from her tense friend.

He took in a deep and purposeful breath and slowly let it out. Once he was done, he guiltily glanced at his two friends to his left.

"We're just going to have to wait for the right moment."

Sam gave him an uneasy nod, while Tucker seemed to not have heard and was nervously eyeing the spaced out line of cops in front of them. Just then the crowds murmuring turned into a jumbled roar of excitement and shouted questions. The front door to the courthouse had opened and the mayor emerged. Danny's anger boiled up with new vigor. He was sure that if he had use of his powers that he would not have been able to hold himself back from attacking the man that leisurely strolled up to the podium and calmly took in the crowd expressionlessly. He didn't say anything, made no gesture for the citizens to quiet down. He just stood there, waiting.

"Huh, Danny?" Tucker whispered and unconsciously leaned way from the man at the podium not even a hundred meters away that his best friend seemed to be trying to kill with heat vision that he didn't have, "shouldn't we hide or something?"

"I am _not_ _ **hiding**_."

The intensity of the growl Danny spoke with caused Tucker to shrink back.

"Danny, calm down," Sam instructed, "you're going to miss the 'right moment' if you don't keep you head on straight. As a matter of fact, you'll probably do something to get yourself in juvie if you don't drop the ideas going through your head right now."

Danny's gaze snapped over to Sam. "But he-"

"Honestly, Danny! He hasn't even started talking yet and you're about to blow a gasket! We should leave if you can't get it together."

Sam held his furious gaze and Tucker awkwardly watched from the sidelines. Danny finally broke and looked away.

"I'm good."

"Are you?" Sam pressed.

"I'm good!"

Even though he had snapped at her, she could see him working to get it together.

"What is Plasmius doing?" Tucker wondered, bringing the attention back to the present issue.

"I don't know..." the goth provided helpfully.

Apparently, the people of Amity started wondering the same thing and quieted, waiting for their Mayor to provide them with answers or something. Once a relative silence took over the mass of people, a small vainglorious smirk made it's way onto the Mayor's face and he took a step forward, closing the remaining distance between himself and the podium.

"Citizens of Amity Park," his voice rang clear through the speakers, "though this weekend has been traumatic for all of us, we have walked away from disaster victorious without missing a step. There has yet to be a single reported death, and only thirty-two injured, not a small feat for a city wide disaster."

Sparse whooping and hollering started a full on cheer from the people pressed around the trio.

"And not even twenty-four hours after the attack and we are already have clean up committees of volunteers, donations from our good citizens to fund the reconstruction of the city, and the strength and kindness you have shown one another in this time makes me proud to call myself your mayor."

The roar of approval peaked to near deafening , while Danny silently watched. Vlad seemed so sincere, Danny might have fallen for it, if he didn't have the image of Vlad's haughty face from this morning as he sneered out the words "this... fine city" in his head. Looking over to his friends he saw Tucker with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands clamped down on his ears and Sam's eyebrows furrowed as she chewed on her glossy purple lip. She met his eyes and he gave her a determined nod; Vlad may have the crowd under his thumb and possibly the Justice League, but they can do this. There was no way Danny was going to let the Justice League leave, ignorant of the potential dangers that lurk in Amity.

"Now, as you are all already aware, we have had the honor of receiving the aid of the Justice League themselves in investigating what transpired this week."

The speakers gave a low screech as the mayor spoke and a volly of mixed shouts emitted from his audience. He held up a hand in a placating manner, easily calming them down.

"Now, I am sure the League would have come to our aid sooner, if the plants had not cut off all our means of communication. But they are here now and they have come to the conclusion that our city is strong, resilient, coordinated, and in good hands."

Again, the crowd cheered their approval of the praises, but the more Vlad spoke the more uneasy Danny felt. Plasmius was good; it had only been minutes and he had the citizens eating his every word. The billionaire at the podium scanned the horde of people as they continued cheering. Danny's grip on the metal fence tightened and he steeled himself with stony determination as the Mayor's gaze locked onto his. The man had an unreadable expression that wasn't entirely blank and quickly moved past the small exchange.

"They have decided that our police force, the government agents, and any others working to stop those behind these disasters are capable of the task. As such, we do not require their assistance."

"Aw man!" Tucker bemoaned along the rest of gathered citizens. Although, there were a few lone shouts of "they shouldn't have come in the first place!" "we don't need them anyway!" and "that's right! We have the ghost boy!" Danny didn't know if he should scream in frustration or puff out his chest with pride.

"Danny!"

Suddenly Sam latched herself to his arm. He hadn't noticed her maneuvering around Tucker to get to him.

"I have an idea. But it's going to be cutting it close."

She sent a sideways glance at the closest officer to them, trying to determine the likelihood of him being able to hear her scheming. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she leaned in inconspicuously and ran through her plan. Danny liked the simplicity of the plan, but he couldn't help but ask about the minute technicalities that could present a problem, but Sam had an answer for every one of them. Vlad had resumed speaking, but neither of them payed attention, too engrossed in their discussion. Suddenly their conversation was drowned out by cheers and screams of excitement.

That's when Danny saw them: the superheroes. The real superheroes. The Flash, the Question, and the Superman, all walking up next to Vlad and the podium with more microphones than Danny thought reasonable. The cameras flashed and the people screamed and squealed. Superman had a kind and jovial smile as he waved to the crowd and as he shook the Mayor's hand. The hero before him with his bright red, billowing cape and the uniform that hugged the muscles that had caught planes and punched through mountains, with the masculine, yet kind, face and jet black hair, could only be described as just that, a hero. At that moment, looking at Superman, Danny understood why the majority of Amity didn't see him as a hero and he couldn't really blame them if that was their reference for what a superhero was. These were the people that would save the earth if he ever failed to.

"Hello, good people of Amity Park." Superman's voice carried through the speakers. "It is a honor and pleasure to stand among such a hard working, strong willed, and prepared community. The task force investigating the disaster have already determined the cause. They have found traces of a chemical compound with a name that I'm currently unable to pronounce," Superman admitted and the Flash looked like he wanted to say something, but was dissuaded by a slow shake of the head from Question, "in the plants that had been previously stollen from Axion Labs. The compound had been slightly modified, but the scientist of Axion Labs say that there is no mistaking it. The compound was most likely administered to a single plant as a test without the proper precautions. As it was designed to do, the plant grew to unnatural sizes. The compound was released into the air via the original plant's pollen, which caused a chain reaction causing all of the plants in Amity Park to grow exponentially. Thankfully, a flaw in the compounds design stopped the plants from doing anymore damage than they already had. Plants that are given the compound only survive up to two days. Unfortunately, a fungus with hallucinogenic properties had been effected by the compound, which may have caused unexplainable behavior and memories for the majority of Amity's citizen. There are no long term effects of the fungus, but if you do start displaying concerning symptoms, please do not hesitate to visit a doctor."

"What?" Sam hissed furiously. "This is a load of bull! Do they honestly believe all that?"

As Superman continued to talk about the culprits, Danny shook his head. "It doesn't matter now, we don't need them to believe that this was a ghost attack, we just need them to believe that ghosts exist."

Danny's eyes widened at the sting of curses that Sam spat out.

"Danny."

"Ye-yeah, Sam?"

Her piercing violet eyes bore holes into his. "You had better make this work. Because if you do than I'll have an in with the League and can chew their sorry a**** out for incredibly stupid they are."

"…right…"

"He's wrapping it up, so hurry and get into position." Sam sent a scathing glare at the man at the podium.

"Right." With that Danny did his best to high tail it out of there, but the crowd was reluctant to any shuffling about.

Danny made his way towards the nearest officer, keeping a tight grip on the fence and calling out, "Excuse me! Excuse me! I dropped my cellphone!"

Mostly people ignored him and he had to shove his way through, receiving a few disgruntled glares. He didn't have to go far, but once he got to his destination, the League members had already said their farewells and were at the bottom of the steps. Before he gave the signal, his attention was drawn to Vlad, who was staring questionably at him. Danny sent him a smirk that made the Mayor faintly scowl, before he once again moved on. Leaning over the fence, Danny looked back at Sam, who was anxiously waiting for him to give her the go-ahead, Danny nodded ever so slightly and she immediately got to work.

He watched the officer in front of him as his attention was drawn in the direction that he knew Sam and Tucker to be. At first the officer maintained a professionally stoic face, but it eventually concern leaked through. He grabbed the walky-talky on his front pocket and spoke into it.

Danny's grip tightened on the fence and he bounced on his feet as he watched the heroes slowly made their way to the jet.

"C'mon Sam, hurry," he whispered.

The officer's eyes widened and he quickly left his post, speaking urgently into his radio. As soon as the officer was out of range, Danny hopped the fence and ran like his life depended on it. Curiosity momentarily took over and he glanced back at his friends what he saw nearly caused him to trip; Tucker lay on the wrong side of the fence with his glasses askew on his face, apparently unconscious. That had not been a part of the plan. He didn't have time to worry about it though, several police officers had noticed his escapade and were now closing in on him, looking like they're about to tackle him to the ground.

He didn't have far to run but already there was an officer on each of his sides and another, a blonde in his early twenties, had managed to get in front of him, cutting him off. This didn't slow Danny down as he ducked a grab from the middle aged cop to his left and actually slid underneath the blonde, probably staining the seat of his pants on the lawn grass. Eyes locked on target, the Justice League members not fifty feet away, he expertly sprung back up, not losing a bit of momentum.

The three heroes had halted their journey to the jet to watch the commotion. Question and Flash would not have stopped if Superman hadn't. They usually don't stop for crazed fans as it usually causes the situation to escalate and creates more problems. But Superman recognized the kid, Daniel Fenton, the son of the "paranormal experts" that were consulting for the investigation and, coincidently, the source of Dick Grayson's stress and absolute joy this last month. Superman remembers seeing Nightwing at the watchtower a few weeks ago, humming and practically bouncing down the hall. When he inquired about his good mood, Nightwing grinned so brightly it was impossible not to join him and said that they would have to meet up as civilians to talk about it.

And last night, Nightwing had been more panicked than Superman had seen him in a while, all out of concern for the kid who had just set up a diversion with his friends and was now out running the Amity Park police force… almost. Just as Daniel got up from his slide, the very officer he had slid under was quick enough to turn around and grab the back of Daniel's shirt. He would have fallen on his butt with the sudden stop if the blonde cop hadn't yanked Daniel back and pulled him into a not-so-friendly-hug.

"Wait, wait! No wait! I need to talk to-Oomph!"

The officer forced him to the ground and began the process of cuffing him. Daniel didn't resist or fight back, but he did work to get his face out of the grass to verbally protest. Before the young officer could actually get the cuffs on, Superman spoke up.

"Excuse me, officers."

Everyone within proximity to hear seemed to freeze, all staring astonished at the speaker.

"I understand you are just doing your jobs, but would you mind letting him go so that I can hear what he has to say?" Superman walked toward the group of police men and the fallen boy, who was staring with his mouth hanging open.

Officer McCartly, the young blonde currently on top of Daniel, nervously glanced up at the senior officer. The elder gave him a small curt nod, and Officer McCartly got up.

"Uuh, Superman? Waddya doing?" Superman heard Flash ask, but ignored him. Instead he bent down and offered Daniel a hand up. The boy quickly closed his mouth and grabbed onto the extended hand, but hardly used the support as he got up. As he did so, the volume of the crowd behind him lowered, as if they hoping to hear what Superman had to say to the delinquent. Looking into the eyes of heroism as they stared kindly back, Danny was sure that the only reason he had made it this far was that the stars had predestined for that obnoxiously loud voice to shout, "Fentina!?" in this very moment. Danny cringed but refused to acknowledge Dash any further. Superman either missed the nickname or ignored it.

"Now son, what was so important to say to us that you set up a diversion with your friends to make it past the police officers?"

Danny shrunk into himself a little bit. The policemen still hovering around all scowled at him. But before he could say anything, the dutiful Mayor of the City butted in.

"I would like to know as well. Really Daniel, that was quite devious of you." Vlad nodded to the policemen and they dispersed, and he continued without waiting for a reply, "gentlemen, this is my nephew, Daniel Fenton."

"We are not related." Danny bit out.

By now, the other two heroes approached as well.

"Well, not by blood," Vlad somewhat relented with a 'friendly' smile that irked Danny.

"It is good to meet you, Daniel." The tall hero politely tried to get the conversation moving.

"Danny. My name is Danny." He took a breath to reign in his temper, then insisted urgently, "you can't leave yet."

The Flash raised an eyebrow and asked, "and why is that, kid?"

Danny sent an involuntary glance at Vlad, who stood quietly with a completely neutral expression. The unconcern the man displayed caused Danny's confidence to falter just enough for him to question the likelihood of this working. But he squared his shoulders, looked Superman in the eye, and stated, "the ghosts are real."

"Oh boy, not this again," Flash drug his hand over his face, "look, kid. Your parents already went through this with us, we've had all the convincing we need. Trust me."

Superman sent Flash a disapproving frown, then turned back to Danny.

"I'm afraid he's right. We've been informed of the problem already, but your parents seem to have a handle on it."

"No, no! You don't understand! They're are actually real! Here..!" Danny desperately fumbled with the thermos lid, but before he could get it open a firm hand covered his, stoping his efforts. Looking up, Danny saw Superman worriedly look over the contraption, before meeting his eyes.

He got down on one knee and placed a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Listen Danny," he began as he easily slipped the thermos from the wide eyed boy, "I understand that what happened this week was frightening. But I promise you, everything is being taken care of; you're safe. We wouldn't leave if you weren't."

"But…but… You are! The city…" Danny hesitated. If he said that the city wasn't safe, he would be admitting to Vlad that he couldn't handle the ghosts, but if he didn't say something the heroes would leave. A wave of confusing emotions crashed around inside his head, making it impossible to think.

Superman stood up and Danny's eyes watched his only hope to get the Justice League to listen as the hero handed it to Vlad. He met the man's pitying gaze and tasted bile coming up his throat.

"I'm sorry, Danny," Superman spoke sincerely, "but it's time we leave. Trust Mayor Masters, trust the police department, and trust your parents, okay? You're safe."

The teenager stood there, his mouth working to get something out as the heroes began boarding the jet.

"Wait! No, don't-!"

A large hand rested on his shoulder, squeezing too tightly to be friendly. Flash and Superman gave one last wave farewell to the crowd and to Danny. When the jet sealed itself, the hand lightly pulled, urging him to step back. Danny growled and ripped away from the contact. Surprise flickered across his face as the senior officer stood there with his hand still outstretched. Danny could feel Vlad staring at him, the whole town staring at him. But he didn't look, he didn't wait for anyone to say anything. He didn't want to hear it. So, he ran.

He shoved through the crowd, who eventually gave him room to pass.

He hadn't consciously stopped running, but before he knew it, he found himself walking with his hands shoved in his pockets towards FentonWorks. Most of the windows were smashed. A large gaping whole took the place of a second floor window. Rotten vines still clung to the red brick. The front door hung loosely on one hinge. Quietly stepping around the door, Danny entered the silent house. With no expectation of the lights to come on, Danny flipped the small switch on the wall. The soft click filled the empty hallway and did nothing more. He stepped further into the house, glass crunching under his shoes.

Several steps from the stairs were missing. The banister splintered and bent the wrong way. The living room and the kitchen faired no better than the stairs. The refrigerator had been tipped, and the sink no longer had a faucet. The cupboards contents spilled onto the counters and floor. Back in the living room, stuffing from the couches littered the ground. It honestly looked more like a giant rabid dog had been set loose in house rather than killer shrubs. But the stiff, black, draping, plants that clung to everything proved otherwise.

Danny attempted to use the ruined stairs to get to his bedroom, but the first step crumpled beneath his foot. He slowly stepped back, staring at the damage blankly. Against his will, his breathing picked up and his blank stare twisted into a heated, disgusted glare. With a cry, Danny swung and punched the wall.

The familiar rumble of an engine and screeching tires pulled up to the front of the house.

"Let's do this, Maddie! No way us Fentons are going to let some plant damage keep us out for long." His dad excitedly proclaimed as several car doors shut.

"Um, Dad, realistically, it's going to be a while before the house is inhabitable. The damage is pretty extensive." Jazz' flat response came.

Maddie, with her hood and goggles on, first approached the house. Danny watched her inspect the front door, before wrenching it from the frame and dropping it into the yard. She turned back around with her hands on her hips, ready for the challenges ahead of her. Her sturdy demeanor dropped and she gasped when she saw him.

"Danny! My baby boy!"

She rushed forward to envelop him in a tight hug, but he stepped back and pushed her arms away, refusing to look at her. She pulled back.

"Sweetheart, are you all right? Where have you been?"

"Danny is already here? See, Jazzy-pants? I told you he would be fine!" Jack stated with pride as he and his daughter entered the house.

"Danny! You shouldn't run off like that! Especially with out a cellphone! Oh my- it smells rancid in here! What is that?"

"It's just the mildew and dead plants, Sweetie." Maddie answered, tearing her gaze from the silent teenager who still wouldn't look at anyone.

"All right, Fentons! We have a lot of work to do! I say, we start by burning all of this ghost forest gunk." Jack kicked at the dead leafs on the ground to emphasize his point.

"We're moving it all to the back yard first, right Dad?"

"Right!" Jack beamed. "Danny, you go see what tools you can find that we can use to get this stuff out."

When he didn't receive a response, he grabbed the teens shoulder. "Dan-?"

Danny whacked his hand away and yelled, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

They all stood in shocked silence, staring wide eyed at the outraged glare he was giving Jack.

"Dan man? What-"

" _ALL OF IT_! ALL OF IT IS ALL YOUR AND MOM'S FAULT! YOUR STUPID OBSESSION RUINED EVERYTHING!" He screeched.

"Danny!" His mom and Jazz gasped together.

"NO! SHUT UP! I just, I just, I HATE YOU! I HATE _ALL OF YOU_!"

He briefly registered his dad's hurt expression and how he subtly reached out for him, before he darted out the door.

* * *

Dick bounced his knee as he sat on a wooden bench in the city square near the courthouse. It had been twenty minutes since the League members had left and the majority of the crowd had dispersed. The barriers had been taken down, and the police had left. Small groups of people still lingered, socializing as they waited for the possibility of something else accruing. His fingers began to drum on his knee. He checked his watch.

A large white limo pulled up to the courthouse stairs to his left. When he heard the doors open behind him, a group of reporters flocked past him. Turning in his seat he saw the mayor, Vlad Masters, easily ignore the cawing mass that tried to swallow him. Several men in uniforms got the them to back up as the chauffeur opened the car door. Masters by chance looked up directly at him. Dick watched the mayor take a minuscule double take. The mayor's eyes lingered, before he disappeared into the car.

Dick didn't watch the limo as it drove off, instead he checked his watch again and glanced around the perimeter. This time, he spotted who he was waiting for. Clark Kent easily strolled in his direction and gave a small wave near where Dick had parked his motorcycle. Not returning the greeting, Dick jumped up and closed the remaining distance.

"Uncle Clark! Have you found them, have you seen him, are they okay?"

"Yes, Dick, I've seen all four of them. None of them are injured. Danny has a small electrical burn on his back and he's sporting a couple of bruises, but that's it. He's fine, they're fine." Clark smiled.

Dick sagged into Clark, hugging him tightly. "Oh, thank god!"

"Didn't Bruce say to stay out of Amity until at least two hours after the news had been on national television, and not, you know, ten minutes?"

"It was advised. But that's unimportant!" Dick dismissed as he stepped out of the embrace. "Do you know where they are, where Danny is?"

Adjusting his glasses, Clark briefly scanned the crowds. "About that... he, uh, actually slipped past the police to talk to me. Well, he tried, but they got him at the last second. He set up a diversion with his friends and everything! I was actually impressed."

"Please, tell me you listened to what he wanted to say."

"Not as much as he would have liked, I'm afraid. I did try and listen, but I was unable to hear him out. The crowd was getting anxious with the delay and I was worried that more people would start trying to get past the police." Clark rubbed the side of his head. "He was trying to tell us that the ghosts in the town were real with one of his parents devices, but we had already been through it all with his parents and their inventions were… less than predictable. I'm sorry, Dick, I wanted to listen to him more, but I didn't… yeah, he didn't take it very well."

"Clark, it's okay. I think you made the right call. Not the one I would have made, but I'm slightly biased."

The man of steel chuckled, "I know. But he wasn't with his parents and he ran off without his friends. I'm not sure where he is now."

Dick heaved a sigh and shifted his weight. "Hopefully, he's at his house. I'm going to head there and at least meet up with his parents."

"Alright Dick, the best of luck to you and be careful."

"Thank you so much, Clark. You've done me so many favors today," he said as he swung a leg over his motorcycle.

"No, the crisis needed to be investigated, thank you for bringing it to our attention. I honestly think we should be watching this city a little more closely. It's a hotspot for the unusual."

"That," he shoved on his helmet, "is a truth. I'm off. thanks again!"

"You're welcome, and again! Be careful!"

Dick sped off, giving Clark a small salute.

Pulling up to FentonWorks, he spotted Jazz sit on the front stairs buried in a book. She looked up when the engine cut off, and delicately wiped at her bight pink nose. When he pulled his helmet off her eyes widened.

"Dick?! Did you-did you drive all the way here on that?"

"It's good to see you too! And yes I did. No one was answering my calls, and I got worried. Are you all all right?"

"But- you know what? I don't care." She closed the book and stood up. "Where all fine, uninjured, physically that is. Thank you so much for coming all the way here just to check."

"Physically?" He pressed, taking in her wet eyes and slightly runny nose.

"Yeah." She bit her lip and looked away. "Danny, he was here before us, I don't know why though he said he was hanging out with Sam and Tucker, but when we got here he… I don't know! He just exploded and he was yelling and I don't know why! But he said- he said some things I know he didn't mean and he just ran off without- without… he was really upset, Dick…"

She sniffed again and hugged herself tightly, but kept her head up. The deep concern lined on his forehead and his piercing blue eyes wholly focused on her every word.

"My parents are inside. We had a.. um yeah. They don't understand what happened either. I stole the keys to the car to keep them from going after him, so he would have time to cool off. But I don't know if- if any of us will be a comfort right now…"

Her tears began to spill over, but she harshly rubbed them away.

"Dick, could you go and talk to him? And just- and just… I don't know, help him somehow?"

"Yes, of course I will, Jazz. Do you know where he went?"

"Um, yeah. Sam and Tucker were here a while ago, looking for him too. They found him near the lake in the park, the west side. He goes there a lot, when he's dealing with stuff. But Sam texted me to let me know they found him."

"So his friends are with him?"

"Yeah, but they're not… they won't… could you still go to him? Please?"

"I will, don't worry, I will. But I think I may know what he's upset about. A friend of mine, a reporter, was there when the Justice League spoke to the city and he said that there as a kid, who looked like me, that made it past the barriers and tried to talk to the League. It looked like they didn't listen."

Jazz cupped a hand over her mouth.

"I'm going to go find him now, but could you point me in the direction of the lake?"

"Oh, um, yes of course."

* * *

 **Tada!**

 **Doing the laundry is very good advice.**

 **Rosy is done here...**

 **for now.**

 **Date Posted: 11-5-17**


	7. Working It Out

CHAPTER SEVEN

WORKING IT OUT

" _Welcome to Amity Park: a nice place to live!"_

The platinum blond read the billboard as the bus passed it buy with a bored expression. She twirled the end of her ponytail around her fingers.

"Finally," she whispered to no one.

A faint smirk lifted her face as she noticed the billowing columns of white smoke pouring out of the approaching city.

* * *

Something in Danny's elbow tweaked as he threw a rock into the lake with as much force as he could. Tucker and Sam watched from a small distance while he threw another, and another, and another in an angry rhythm. A minute ago they had managed to calm him down enough to stop punching a tree before his knuckles bled. But as he recounted what had happened with the heroes, he lost it again. Knowing that their friend's temper was a force to be reckoned with, powers or no, they opted for letting him vent as he pleased. Sitting at the base of the tree Sam leaned against, Tucker typed away on one of his devices to pass the time.

"I'm really sorry," Sam spoke softly, trying not to disturb Danny.

"Huh?" He looked up from his typing.

"I didn't mean to make you faint back there. We needed the officer to approach us, so that Danny would have a clearer shot. I thought that starting a fight with you would do the trick… Did I shake you too hard?"

"Uh, um. No. I just don't do so hot in tight spaces or in crowds is all. You yelling at me was the last straw I guess…" He shrugged.

Sam nodded, staring at Danny. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry, I honestly forgot and expected you to fight back."

"It's-it's okay Sam, I mean it worked didn't it? Well, sort of…"

Waving her hand flippantly, she rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean. I would do the exact same thing if we got a do over."

Tucker bobbed his head. "Yeah, only this time I would pretend to faint."

"This is getting ridiculous. How long has he been at it?"

"Huh, including the tree punching or not?"

Before she could answer the question, the sound of someone approaching caught their attention. Her eyes widened when she saw Danny's brother right behind her.

"Dick?"

Tucker quickly leaned around the tree to see for himself. His own eyes bulged when he saw the man in the black leather jacket and a helmet tucked under his elbow.

Dick gave them a grim smile. "Hey Sam, hey Tucker. How's he doing?"

"Not well." Sam stated a little defensively. "Which is to be expected when heroes shut you down when you're asking for help."

Danny yelled angrily as he chucked another rock, not noticing the new arrival.

"Yeah," Dick agreed. "How long has he been throwing rocks?"

"A while," Tucker answered. "Before this, he was punching trees. He usually would… He usually would calm down by now."

"Have you guys tried talking to him?"

"Yeah," Sam scoffed. "He's not punching trees anymore, is he?"

"Thank you, guys. He's lucky to have you as friends. I'm going to try and talk to him, alright?"

"Your funeral," Tucker muttered beneath his breath.

Sam watched silently as Dick set down his helmet at her feet and slowly approached her seething friend.

Getting closer, Dick could hear Danny muttering something with each toss.

"Stupid.

Good for nothing.

Superheroes.

With their stupid.

Good for nothing.

Faces."

Placing a gentle hand on the teens shoulder,Dick stopped him from chucking the next rock. Danny spun on him, surprise melting away the furious snarl.

"Dick!?"

"Hey there, kiddo," the older brother chuckled softly, then frowned. "I've been told what happened."

Danny dropped his gaze to glare at the lake. "I guess everyone's going to hear about it."

"If you didn't want everyone knowing about it, then you probably shouldn't have done it in front of the national news cameras."

Eyes widening in shock, Danny stared back up at his brother with a growing mortification, before he stepped away, burying his face in his hands.

"Why? Why? Why? Why do I have to be _so stupid!_?"

With a growl he ripped his hands away and suddenly chucked the rock he had been holding. He yelled at the sky and bent over to scoop up more rocks. He angrily tossed them one at a time.

"Hey, hey, hey, Danny. Stop. Stop for a second, alright?"

Danny stopped, but refused to make eye contact. Hesitating, Dick watched the tension quaver in the teens muscles. He also noticed the knuckles of the tight fists gripping the rock had skin missing and torn in different places. The hurting fury burned in his furrowed brow and blue eyes.

After looking over the small, flat clearing, and the soft grass with a silent sigh, Dick spoke with the barest hints of sarcasm, "While taking out your anger on the the lake seems like a great way to vent, may I suggest something else?"

The blue eyes glanced at him doubtfully.

"Punch me."

Danny's arms dropped as he gaped at him.

"I'm sorry, what was that?!" Sam yelled from over by the tree.

Ignoring her, Dick got into a fighting stance with his fists up, and said it again.

"Punch me."

"Wait. What? Why?!"

"Sparing is therapeutic. Now go ahead and hit me."

When the bewildered look on Danny's face stayed, the vigilante decided to goad him on.

"Or are you too scared to try and hit a cop?"

Dick realized he struck cord when Danny's face dropped into a glower and he faint heard Tucker say, "oh. Oh snap."

"I am _not **scared**_!" Danny roared and charged.

While the speed Danny came at him with was surprising, Dick easily knocked the punch aside and stepped out of the way. Taking several steps backwards to give them space from the water, Dick smirked as Danny came at him again.

"Is… is this actually happening?" Tucker squawked.

"Yeah," Sam answered with awe. "And it's amazing! Kick his butt!"

"Who are you routing for?!"

"I don't know, honestly."

Tucker looked from the tense excitement on Sam's face to the brothers, who went at it, holding nothing back from what he could tell.

After every swing, Dick would knock Danny's fist to the side, then give him a shove while he was open, causing him to stumble.

"You've got a fantastic swing. But you've got to loosen up if you want to hit me. You're too tight and you keep trying the same thing over and-"

Danny surprised him while he spoke by faking a punch, dodging the shove and landing a solid round house kick on his side. Danny stumbled back out of the kick, glaring smugly. A grin stretched excitedly across Dick's face, before he launched forward in a relentless assault of kicks, punches, and jabs, easily gaining ground. The shorter willingly took a jab to the ribs to get in a punch to the gut. Separating for a second to recover and catch their breath, Dick tried to berate Danny for knowingly putting himself in harm's way for chance to hit back, but Danny charged again.

Dick quickly went back on the defensive, easily blocking almost blocking every hit. He chose to let a few land, if only to help the anger dissipate. But as the fight went on, Danny's punches became faster, harder, and erratic.

"Quit patronizing me!"

Dick grabbed the fist meant to emphasize the demand.

"I will. As soon as you figure out your footwork."

To prove his point, Dick swiped Danny's legs out from under him.

"Try again. But this time, keep your feet firmly planted, and make sure your footing is solid before you try and come at me. If you've got to keep your feet moving, stay on the balls of your feet and off your heels."

Danny sent him a scowl as he stood, but thoughtful contemplation softened it considerably. Shrugging his jacket off, Dick controlled his breathing and tossed the jacket aside.

"Ready to do this again?"

For the better part of an hour the two spared in the grass. The fight had been fairly mobile as Danny never stood still while he fought. By the end, Danny lay on the ground huffing for air with a smirk on his face. Dick sat sprawled out next to him, also winded, but not nearly as bad off as Danny.

Much of the fight had perplexed Dick. Danny clearly knew how to fight, and well. He also learned much faster than most; it had been astonishing to watch as the match progressed. But it was almost as if Danny kept forgetting he even had feet; stumbling in and out of attacks, and tripping on rocks or slippery patches. He even tripped on his own foot at one point. But it never slowed him down. No, Danny had been able to dish out as much as he took.

Dick knew he would have a number of bruises in the morning.

"That…" Danny paused to let a long breath out.

Dick sent him an amused glance.

"..was awesome. We should do it again, but, you know, later."

"Definitely," Dick chuckled.

Falling into a comfortable silence the two sat there, just breathing. Danny's friends sat at one of the wooden picnic tables near the water on the other side of the clearing. Having gotten bored of the fight rather quickly, Tucker had his eyes locked onto a screen, while Sam seemed to be intently weaving twigs together. Dicks helmet sat on the end of the table.

Danny watched the leaves above rustle and sway in the small breeze, contently relaxing his sore muscles. When his mind began to wander back to the events prior, he noticed Dick looking at him with a small frown.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

While he contemplated whether or not he could, Danny studied his brother's face.

Looking back up at the leaves, Danny sighed, "not really."

"Alright."

Dick sent Sam a small wave and a smile, when she looked up from her weaving, curious about the prolonged quiet. She only quirked an eyebrow at him and went back to weaving. She said something to Tucker that made him snort out a laugh.

"Hey Danny." Dick looked back down at him.

"Yeah?"

"Jazz was really worried about you and fairly upset."

Danny didn't answer right away. Instead he dropped eye contact and sighed.

"Yeah… I should probably go back…" His face twisted in discomfort at the thought.

"DANNY!" Sam shouted across the clearing.

Face clearing, Danny sat up and shouted back, "WHAT?"

"I HAVE TO GO HOME!"

"WHAT? WHY?"

"MY FARENTS ARE JERKS THAT'S WHY. THEY ARE THIREEN TO START TAKEAWAY DRASIC HUMAN RIGHTS 'PILVIGES'."

"WHAT?"

"MY PARENTS ARE THIREEN TO START TAKEAWAY DRASIC HUMAN RIGHTS 'PILVIGES'!"

Tucker pipped up, "I SHOULDER OMTOO."

"Oh, for the love of…" Danny huffed. "I'M COMING OVER THERE."

Dick laughed as Danny hoisted himself off the ground and jogged over to his friends. Dick followed at a slower pace.

"What are you guys saying?"

Sam answered while furiously texting, "my parents want me home and are threatening to take away basic human rights, but calling them privileges."

"I was saying I should go home too. Mom and Dad didn't want me out too long." Tucker swung his legs out from under the picnic table and stood.

Dropping his shoulders a bit, Danny nodded. "Alright. Will I see you guys tomorrow? We didn't really get to have that 'not dying' celebration…"

"Tomorrow might be iffy for me," Sam informed, finally looking up from her cellphone. "My parents are pretty pissed. We'll figure something out later. Right now, I have to go."

"Okay, see you later, Sam."

"Later, Danny. Dick." Sam offered them a smile before heading back to where she had parked her scooter.

Tucker jogged after her and called over his shoulder, "see ya, guys! Oh! And Dick! You have some sick moves!"

Dick chuckled and waved. "Thanks, Tucker!"

Even though his friend was out of hearing range, Danny grumbled defensively, "I have sick moves…"

Smile broadening, Dick placed his elbow on top of Danny's head like an arm rest. "Yes, but they look cooler when your not tripping over your own feet and when, you know, you're taller."

"Hey!" Danny shoved him off. "I'm not that short!"

His brother just laughed, taking a few steps backward. "You just look like a creepy little gremlin when your short and good at fighting."

Danny chased after him, voice cracking as he protested, "I'm not short!"

Throwing his head back and laughing, Dick didn't notice Danny lunging for a tackle. They both tumbled to the ground. Danny, fully prepared to wrestle with his brother, suddenly flopped down onto the grass.

"You know what?" He panted, "never mind. I'm too tired for this."

Dick chuckled.

Danny sent him a harmless glare. "You're a jerk and you're wrong."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say."

After a few minutes of silence, Danny sighed.

"I guess now would be as good a time as any to go home."

"Alright. Would you like a ride home?" Dick asked as he stood up.

"Uh, sure, yeah. That would be nice."

"Cool. Let me get my helmet and we can get going," he replied pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

Eyes lighting up and sitting up, Danny asked, "you have a motorcycle?"

Dicks grin broadened.

* * *

"Thank you kindly, sir!" The blond woman waved to the bus driver with a flirtatious smile and stepped off the bus.

As the bus lumbered away, she spun to face the city, firmly planting her feet, and putting her hands on her hips. Her smile stretched across her face as the fire department clamored by in a flurry, stirring up the thick air that smelled of burning leafs.

She momentarily broke her inane grin to let out a low impressed whistle.

"Now… if I were a hormonal, stuck up, ninny, that just had the biggest temper tantrum in her life and is currently hiding from the bat…. Where would I go?"

She squinted, placing a delicate finger on her chin, and popped her hip out to the side.

"I really haven't a clue…"

* * *

Dick entered the doorless house right behind Danny who shuffled in awkwardly with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets and his head slightly tucked. Nearly all of the dead plants had been cleared, the glass had been swept up, and one of the living room walls had been torn open, revealing a tangle of roots weaving itself through the insulation. The Fentons' muffled voices came from the kitchen as they discussed the state of the house.

"…structurally sound. We'll just be replacing most of the floors, insulation, and walls, Madds."

"Yes, Jack. But there's also the electrical work, and the plumbing, and the security systems we need to account for. Plus the windows and the hole in the wall upstairs. This is going to take some time. Besides, he could use-….. Danny! Dick!"

Maddie stood from the kitchen table that had a stack of sandwiches on a plate and a package of water bottles, while Jack turned around in his chair to face them. Dick gave them a small nod and a smile.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad…" Danny scuffed his shoe on the floor. "Um.. where's Jazz?"

"She's upstair, cleaning out her room. Would you like me to go get her?" Maddie asked softly.

Danny shook his head without looking away from the floor.

After a stretch of silence he spoke up, "I'm really sorry… I didn't mean… I mean I don't…"

Maddie rushed around the table and pulled Danny into a tight hug when he subtly opened his arms for one.

"Oh, Danny! My baby boy! I'm so sorry! We'll put more ghost security systems up this time! Not a single ghost will ever get into this house again!" Maddie's voice quavered and she sniffed wetly.

Danny stiffened. "Uh, mom? That isn't really-"

"And we'll fix up the house to exactly what it had been before! Don't you worry about it, Danno!" Jack comforted.

"Guys, that's not why I was upset!" Danny exasperatedly stated.

Maddie pulled away to look at him, but didn't let go.

"Then what is it, baby?"

He couldn't meet her misty eyes as he tried to find the words to explain. Scanning the house again, Dick noticed Jazz sitting on behind the balcony, intently listening. They made eye contact and she blushed profusely, but made no move to leave or stop eavesdropping.

"I just… I tried to talk to Superman…. I wanted… I thought that if they stayed a little longer they could help keep the city safe, you know? Because, what if this happens again and… it isn't safe?" Jack suddenly stood up looking serious and Danny continued talking. "But they didn't listen and they left…"

Maddie let go of him right before Jack's enormous hands grabbed onto Danny's small shoulders. He knelt down and looked Danny in the eye.

"I, Jack Fenton, will never let anything hurt you. Ever. Human or ghost. I know I can be a bit slow sometimes, but you are my son and there is nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe."

A weird unreadable string of emotions filtered across Danny's face, before he disappeared in a protective hug.

Getting close to Dick, Maddie whispered, "thank you for bringing him home and talking to him. I don't know what you said to him, but thank you."

Dick shrugged. "You're welcome. I didn't say much. He just had some things to work out."

"Dad!" Danny choked out, "Dad! How about keeping me safe from asphyxiation! I can't breathe!"

Jack let go and Danny stumbled back coughing.

"Every time, Dad!"

"That's the only way to hug!" Jack beamed, putting his hands on his hips.

"What? You mean with attempted murder?!"

"Killing 'em with kindness!"

Chuckling, Maddie interrupted the interaction. "Would either of you like dinner? It isn't much. But Jazz managed to put some sandwiches together for us."

"Yes, please!" Danny darted to the table and grabbed three sandwiches from the stack.

He turned and gave one of them to Dick, chomping down on the other two at once.

"Danny! Manners!" Maddie reprimanded.

"Uh, thank you?"

Maddie sighed tiredly, then turned to Dick. "Is there anything else I can get you? We have water and.. oh dear, I'm afraid we don't have much else to offer."

"A water would be wonderful. Thank you so much. Is there anything I can help with? I came all this way, and I would like to help out where I can." His politeness radiated, making Danny narrow his eyes at him.

"If your sure, it would be lovely to have more working hands!" Maddie clasped her hands together.

"It would be my pleasure, Maddie."

She turned around and grabbed a piece of paper with a list on it. As she squinted at the paper, humming in thought, Dick met Danny's suspicious look with a wink. Danny gasped in offended shock with a mouthful of food, which ended with him coughing on bits of sandwich.

"Well, once you two are done, you can clear out Danny's room. We're moving everything into the basement while we reconstruct. Oh and Danny? Danny are you all right?"

With a few last coughs, Danny nodded. "Yeah, sorry. You were saying?"

Jack continued for his wife excitedly, "pack a couple of bags of what you'll need, because you're going to Vladdie's!"

"Huh?" Danny's brain stuttered.

"Danny sweetie, Vlad has offered to take care of you while we get the house fixed up. Jazz has a friend she's already planning on staying with. But it might be a week or two, maybe longer, so pack what you can find, alright?"

He stood there frozen for a few seconds, a piece of ham slowly slipping out of one of the sandwiches. The ham dropped.

"I can't stay with him!"

"Of course you can, Dann-o! He said so!"

Dick looked between Danny and his parents. "You mean… the mayor?"

"Yup! I voted for him! Was his number one supporter!" Jack puffed out his chest.

"Mom! I can't stay with him! He's…. he's… old and creepy and lonely! Please mom, I can stay here! I'll do as much work as I can!"

"Daniel Fenton, that is no way to speak about our friends. He isn't old, he's our age. He isn't creepy, he may come off that way, but if you get to know him he's just a big dork with an ego."

Danny let out a laugh so pained it didn't sound much like a laugh.

Frowning at the real panic coursing through his younger brother as he vigorously ran a shaky hand through his hair, Dick spoke up. "He could stay with me."

The three Fentons stared.

"Well, I don't know…" Maddie hesitated. "We've already arranged things with Vlad, and Bludhaven isn't very-"

"Yes! He can stay with Dick!" Jazz called, rushing down the stairs, hopping over the last few steps with plywood covering them in an attempt to make them useable.

She put a protective arm around Danny and continued, "Mom, Dad, Danny and Dick are at a very crucial bonding point in their relationship. The more time they spend together now, the more healthy the relationship will be. If they don't spend enough quality time together in the early stages of their relationship, it's likely a true bond will never be formed! Who knows when the next time they'll be able to see each other will be, but chances are it'll be too late! And then they'll be forever stuck in an awkward 'we're brothers but we don't speak to each other' thing and never be able to-"

"Alright Jazz! Enough!"

"Mom, you can't take this chance for sibling bonding away from them!"

"Jasmine!"

Jazz clamped her mouth shut.

"I understand. It's just Bludhaven is so…" Maddie bit her lip, "I'm sorry, Dick, but it's a dangerous city. I wouldn't want anything to happen…"

Danny threw his hands in the air, "hello! Amity Park! Most haunted city in America! We live here!"

Dick stepped forward looking the apprehensive mother in the eye. "I promise I would let nothing happen to him. I'm a cop and I live in a secure suite. He would be safe. But if it would make you feel better, we can stay with my father, Bruce, in Gotham. I know that doesn't sound much better, but the mansion is in a secluded area just outside the city limits. Or I could have one of my brothers come stay with us so that Danny is never alone."

Maddie sighed and dropped her head. "None of that is necessary. He can stay with you if he wants, just please, keep him safe."

"I promise."

* * *

"Hello! You are like the only hotel I've found with a vacancy sign! They're all full!"

The receptionist in a white blouse and a name tag claiming her name to be Becky smiled, "well lots of people's homes were damaged, so lots of them are lookin' for somewhere else to stay."

The blond adjusted her glasses, then flipped her hair. "Well, I'm here for a room. Whatchya got for me?"

Looking down at her computer, she hummed, "well, we only have one room open, but the previous occupants, who left this morning, left some green stains on the south wall that… um… glow in the dark. We can give you a discount for the room, if you take it. It's got two queen beds."

"Well, look at me! Savin' money! I'll take it."

"Okay great, how long will you be staying?"

"Hmm," the blond tapped her chin. "Let's just make it a week and go from there."

"Alright, fill this out and just sign here and I'll get you a key." She handed the blond a clipboard and a pen.

Quickly skimming over the paper before she signed, the blond asked, "say, you wouldn't happen to have seen a red head with a thing for plants and against men, have you?"

Becky plucked the key off the empty key rack and hummed again. "I'm sorry, but can't say that I have…"

They traded the key and the clipboard while the blond pouted, "I suppose that's to be expected. This isn't going to be easy catching her trail if she's hiding from the bats."

"I'm sorry, what?" Becky scrunched her eyebrows.

"It's nothin'." She dismissed with a flip of her hand. "Thanks for the room!"

"Of course! Enjoy your stay!"

* * *

After Danny had finished gushing his thanks to his siblings once they got to his room, they tackled the task of clearing the room. Which took more effort than Danny originally thought it would.

"Danny, I'm going to say this one last time, the amount of garbage in your room was horrific."

"No one asked you to help, Jazz. And it's gone now, isn't it?"

They both sat cross legged with their arms folded in the middle of the now empty room, with only a bed, desk, and dresser left, glaring at each other. Dick sat sprawled out next to them, watching them with a small smirk.

"That's not the point, Danny. Do you realize what kind of psychological effects it can have on a person to live in a pig sty?"

"Do YOU realize what kind of psychological effects it can have on someone to have such a bratty older sister?"

"No. But so far my only case study has shown extremely poor results, but there's nothing indicating that there's a correlation between the preposed cause and the effect."

Danny let out an indignant, "hey!" Then suddenly shivered violently. He hugged his torso and leaned forward until his forehead rested on the floor.

"Danny? Danny, are you okay?" Dick crawled forward and placed a hand on his brother's back.

"Yeah." The reply came out strained.

"Danny are you sure?" Jazz asked, brow crinkling.

"Yep!" He quickly sat up, letting out a breath of relief. "Totally fine."

Just then their mom entered the room. She smiled a little at the sight of Dick with his hand on Danny's shoulder, but drew no attention to it.

"Well, since you're done, we can go ahead and set up some sleeping bags. Dick, you can stay the night in Danny's room if you'd like; I don't think there'll be any rooms left at hotels and I'd hate to see you two drive back in the dark."

"Thank you, Maddie. I think I will, if that's alright with Danny?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm alright with it. You can even take the mattress. I'm used to sleeping on the floor at Tucker's house."

"Wonderful! I'll go get a the sleeping bags. You should be fine without any weapons for the night, Jack's gotten the shield up and running, but I'm going to grab some for you. Just in case." She hurried out the door before her kids could protest.

That night, Dick fell asleep long before Danny had. The halfa lay still on his bed, tucked inside the sleeping bag on his side, looking down at his brother's sleeping form on the floor. The light of the full moon cast a green glow on the floor as it filtered through the shield, creating deep shadows on his brother's face. The surreal air of the still room made everything seem new and disconnected. The barren corners of his bedroom screamed unfamiliarity. His duffle bag stuffed with clothes and ghost weapons lay next to his door, ready to go. Dick's helmet sat in the center of his neatly folded jacket next to Danny's rumpled bag. Staring intently at the older's nose, Danny brushed his fingers across his own. With a sigh, he rolled over onto his back, blinking tiredly up at the ceiling with his forehead creased in thought.

* * *

"Good morning, Becky!" The blond sang as she tapped the bell on the counter, causing the receptionist to jump, nearly knocking the computer mouse off the counter.

"Good morning…" Becky's enthusiasm trailed off as she glanced awkwardly at the computer monitor.

She grinned. "Harley. The name's Harley, sugar."

"Right, yes. Sorry. Did you sleep well, Harley?"

She flipped her hair, before she beamed, "Sure did! But you wouldn't happen to have a number for a taxi service would you?"

"Of course! There are multiple pamphlets available on that wall over there. The three on the end are transportation options."

"Perfect! Thank you, sugar!" Harley gave her a wink.

* * *

Danny jerked awake, icy air rolling up his throat and through his teeth. Seeing that Dick still slept, now with his back facing him, Danny carefully eased off the bed and tiptoed his way to the door. Once safely closed in the bathroom, he let the bright flash of light shift him into his ghost form.

He maneuvered past the shield by shifting to human and back again mid-air. The crisp morning air still hung heavy with smoke. The sun hadn't risen, but Danny could tell that dawn was close.

A deep guttural yowling, caused Danny to freeze in his visual search for the ghost. Slowly pivoting to look behind him, Danny met the eyes of a cat the size of one of Casper High's school buses, sitting on a roof two blocks down. It's eight eyes all hungrily, happily, stared down the halfa. The cat's enormous tail flicked. Danny swallowed.

"Well… I have been wanting to try out my ice powers again…."

He tried moving to the left, away from FentonWorks to the park, but he stopped short when the cat excitedly crouched at his movement.

"Oh boy. Here we go." He said with a nervous smile.

Mustering up the courage, Danny suddenly shot towards the park. The cat quickly followed, silently darting from rooftop to rooftop at heart sinking speeds.

* * *

Harley launched herself forward, gripping the drivers seat, and pointing excitedly out the window. The taxi swerved as the driver tried to collect himself.

"Jeez! Lady! Don't do that! Sit back down!"

"Pancakes! Stop there! Stop there! They're open and serving pancakes!"

"Alright, alright! Just stop screeching and sit back down! I'll take you to the restaurant!"

She plopped back into the back seat with a small giggle. The taxi driver rubbed the side of his face, eyes wide with exasperation and uncertainty.

"It's too early for this," he mumbled under a sigh.

A falling figure crumpled the hood of the car with a loud crash.

"Holy-!"

The taxi skidded to a stop and Harley was tossed forward. Ignoring her throbbing forehead, she sat up to look at the figure. A boy moaned and rolled over. Lifting his head he noticed the two in the car gapping at him. He gave them a nervous smile and a small wave.

"Uh, sorry about the-" a monstrous growl interrupted him.

His eyes widened and he flipped back over onto his back. He then quickly sank into the hood of the car. Seconds later an enormous feline dived after him as if the car wasn't even there.

The taxi driver leaped out of the car and yanked the back door open.

"We need to get to cover," he said urgently as he grabbed Harley's elbow and pulled her out.

She let herself be dragged out as she stared at the hood of the car. "What… was that!?"

The short man sighed as he tugged her away from the street. "You're a tourist right? Look, I'll explain it to you after we find a place to hide, okay?"

Nodding, Harley finally ripped her gaze away from the car and picked up the pace, dragging him into a darkened alley.

"Oookay, explain."

"I, uh, I don't think this counts as cover…"

Harley crossed her arms and didn't flinch as a tremendous crash shook the ground. The taxi driver ducked down, putting his hands above his head protectively.

"We have to get somewhere safer!"

Harley grabbed his arm as he tried to dart past and shoved him against the wall.

"I feel safe enough right here. Now explain."

Gaping at her sudden harsh demeanor, the taxi driver had to shake himself out of his stupor.

"Are you crazy!? We could get killed out here!"

Another growl erupted from the beast, proving his point. Harley leaned in close, pinning him against the wall, and smiled.

"Then you'd better get talkin', 'cause we're going nowhere until you tell me what's going on."

He stared at her. A flash of green light illuminated the alley, and the man squeaked.

"You're crazy! It's the ghosts! They're ghosts! It's a ghost attack, okay? The boy that totaled my car was Phantom! He's a ghost and he fights the other ghosts!"

Harley snorted. Her shoulders shook before she threw her head back and laughed.

"It's true! What do you think happened to the town this weekend?"

"What do I think…?" She stifled a giggle. "Poison Ivy, duh."

The taxi driver blinked. "That's actually a good theory. But that's not what happened. Even the league said it wasn't her. They said it was a chemical accident or whatever. But everyone knows that's a load of bull. It was a ghost."

"Wait. The capes were here? $*# ."

"Look lady, I don't want to stick around any longer! Please, I swear on my life it's ghosts. If you want to go see for yourself, be my guest. Just let me go already!"

Giggling again, Harley stepped back. "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Tubby."

The man jogged away muttering, "It's _way_ too early for this."

"Just hold still, you stupid cat!" An echoing voice cried from the street.

Poking her head out of the alley, Harley easily spotted the glowing boy. He clipped a metal cylinder to his belt. The cat clung to the side of a building. It's tail flicked excitedly as it watched the glaring boy. The cat pounced and the boy vanished. Landing exactly where the boy had been, it's ears twitched. The boy reappeared in the air above the cat, hands glowing a brilliant blue. As if knowing the boy was there, the cat twisted around and swung a massive paw, whacking the boy out of the air.

He bounced off of the pavement, rolling to a stop. The beast was already running for its fallen prey, but he vanished again. The eight red eyes scanned the area slowly, the cat's haunches in the air.

Harley let out a small "eep!" when the red eyes locked onto her. It wiggled, then leapt. She only had time to brace herself against the wall. A green dome materialized around her. The cat smacked its face on the translucent shield and bounced of with a pained mew.

The glowing boy suddenly stood in front of her with his arms stretched out. Green oozed from his forehead, his face twisted with exhaustion.

"When I drop the shield you should…" glancing at her, the boy hesitated and his face turned a bright green. She got the distinct feeling that he was blushing as his eyes flicked down to her low neckline, then he looked away completely. Harley smiled mischievously

He cleared his throat. "You should get out of here when I drop the shield. I'll keep the kitty distracted, alright?"

The 'kitty' had recovered and was now stalking back and forth in front of the alley, waiting for them.

"Is it true that you're dead?"

Harley folded her hands behind her back, still smiling, as she watched the boy look back at her with surprise, confusion, and irritation dancing across his brightly glowing eyes.

"Yes, I'm dead. I died. I'm a ghost. Okay? I'm going to have to drop the shield in a second because Snowflake over here is getting restless. I suggest you book it and get to safety as soon as you can."

With that, he dropped the shield and took off. Harley didn't move. She watched in fascination as the teenager tackled Snowflake, avoiding its claws. Snowflake writhed and wriggled away, only to tackle the boy. Again, the boy's hands shone blue and he slammed them down on the two front paws currently pinning him to the road. The cat yowled and tried to pull away, but couldn't.

Thick ice locked the monster in place. The cat yowled in distress again. The boy smirked, then sunk down into the pavement. He reappeared a few feet back with the cylinder in hand. Snowflake tugged, rolled, and writhed against the ice in an attempt at freedom.

The boy laughed at it, then hit a button on the cylinder. A bright beam of light engulfed the cat, and it disappeared into the cylinder. He closed the cap and tossed into the air with confident flip.

"I officially hate cats." The statement was said without a trace of malice or anger.

In fact, Harley would say that he had enjoyed the fight by his tone. She started clapping. The boy's face dropped into a scowl when he saw her standing in the exact place he left her.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?"

"I don't take orders from little boys." She smiled when he glowered even more.

"Whatever, lady," he grumbled, then vanished.

"No wait! I have more questions!"

The boy's disembodied voice laughed from a distance. She swiveled around, trying to determine the direction the laughter came from.

"I don't take orders from crazy ladies with a death wish!"

Harley slumped with a pout.

* * *

The sun still hadn't fully risen by the time he got back to the house, so he doubted anyone was up. He shifted back outside the shield and walked through the front door in his pajamas. As quietly as he could he shut the front door and tiptoed up the stairs.

His bed creaked as he climbed onto it. Danny froze when Dick sat up, a worried frown on his face.

"Danny?" His brother whispered.

"Um, yeah?"

"Where'd you go? Are you alright?"

"I just, you know, went to the bathroom..."

Dicks frown deepened, but he nodded.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, just tired, Dick."

Again, Dick nodded. "If you're sure."

"Yeah, yeah," Danny crawled into the sleeping bag as he dismissed Dick's worries.

Dick laid back down and Danny let out a sigh of relief as his head hit the soft pillow.

* * *

 **Guys, I can't get over how much attention this thing is getting. I know it's not like, A LOT a lot. But it's waaaaaaaaaaaay more than I had expected.**

 **Thank you all so much for the support. Ya'll always leave such lovely reviews that turn me into a mushy pile of blush.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next time!**

 **Date posted: 12-12-17**


	8. Revelations

**It's short, but I like it. :)**

Chapter Eight

Revelations

When Danny woke again, both Dick and his sleeping bag were gone. Stretching, he rolled off the bed and shuffled out of his room. He cautiously peered over the banister before making his way down stairs. Jack and Maddie's voices came from the kitchen in the kind of argument Danny often heard them use when going over schematics of a new invention. These discussions had gotten heated and downright scary while they worked on the portal. But usually they were harmless.

"Jack, we're not adding an office space. It will inevitably turn into a mini lab, and we've promised the kids to keep lab work downstairs, in the lab."

"But Madds, I think it'd be perfectly sensible to have a mini lab upstairs. What if we can't get to the one downstairs during an attack? Besides, lab work will be in the lab if the office is a lab."

"That's why we have the ops center!"

Danny silently sat down at the table next to Dick, who had a cup of coffee in one hand and one of the blueprints scattered across the table in the other, looking completely at ease despite the ongoing argument.

"Good morning, Danny," he greeted with a smile.

"'Morning," Danny mumbled, rubbing his eye.

"Want breakfast?" With the back of his hand that held the mug, Dick pushed a box of pop tarts to him.

"Thanks." He fished a package out of the box without checking the flavor.

Glaring down at her seated husband, Maddie slammed her hands on the table, making Danny jump. "For the last time, Jack! It would make more sense to expand the weapons vault upstairs than to add another lab!"

"You're just wanting a bigger walk in closet!" Jack accused.

"You're just wanting to avoid using the stairs!"

"Mom! Dad!" Jazz stood with a duffle bag at her feet and a backpack on her shoulder in the doorway.

"What is it, Jazzypants?" Jack smiled easily at his daughter.

"Would you guys please at least wait until we're gone?" She scowled at them. "You're being childish and quite frankly, it's embarrassing."

"Thanks, Jazz." Danny mumbled around a mouthful of blueberry breakfast appreciatively.

"I suppose we can wait to do this later," Maddie sighed. "What time will your ride be here again, Jazz?"

"Any minute now." She lifted the duffle and tossed it closer to the door.

Jazz flipped her hair as she sat down next to Danny and grabbed the pop tarts.

"Got Bearbert all packed and ready to go?" Danny asked slyly.

Jazz elbowed him in the ribs with no other acknowledgements that he had spoken.

"Ow! Jazz! That hurt!"

"What time do you plan on leaving, Dick?" Jazz asked over Danny's head, like he wasn't there.

Dick looked at his watch. "Well, if I want to make it to the hotel by six, I'll have to leave within the hour."

"Wait, what?" Danny blinked in confusion. "I thought I was going to Bludhaven with you."

"You are," Dick assured him. "Your parents and I talked about it this morning. We thought it would be best if I ride back home today, and you fly in tomorrow. Does that work for you? I figured it would give both of us a bit of time, and you would be able to bring more with you."

"It would give you time to say goodbye to Tucker and Sam, Danny. It's part of why we thought it would work best." His mom spoke gently, as if trying to convince him.

"Uh, yeah. That works. Just as long as I'm going."

"Excellent. Your flight is at three tomorrow, so plan with your friends accordingly. I want you home by one thirty, got it?"

Danny bobbed his head, taking a bite of poptart.

Maddie pinned him with a sharp stare. "I mean it, Daniel Fenton. I don't mean one forty-five or two thirty. I mean one thirty."

"I know, I know! One thirty. Got it."

The look she was giving him didn't leave.

"Mom! I know! I won't be late. I'll even ask Tucker and Sam to hang out here so I can't be late."

"What a wonderful idea." Maddie beamed. "That will do just fine."

Danny slumped into his chair, looking down at his breakfast. By her tone, it was obvious he wasn't going to be allowed to do anything different.

Jazz left with her ride, a quiet girl in the seniors class that Danny had only seen a handful of times, with farewells and promises of phone calls and safety. As he heard the car roll away from the depths of the lab, he regretted avoiding being alone with her all morning. It had been successful attempt to bypass any emotional or advice-ridden conversations she might have tried to start. She was annoying and nosy like that. They didn't need to talk it over, he already made up with her for what he'd said yesterday. Sort of. They were laughing together last night, that counts. A scowl slipped onto his face as the realization that she would probably call him later, meaning he only delayed the inevitable, she was going to try and talk about it.

He punched the release button on the thermos. It's contents shot into the portal and he quickly shut it. Staring at the safety doors, he wondered if Frostbite would let him keep the Infi-map while he was in Bludhaven; that way he wouldn't have to worry about Sam and Tucker while he was away. Given what happened last time he had it, he figured that Frostbite, understandably, wouldn't trust him with it.

With a sigh, he phased through the boxes and furniture filling the entire lab. Once he got to the stairs he dropped intangibility and almost immediately turned around. The thought that maybe he should grab extra weapons for Sam and Tuck made him step back towards the monstrous, wall to wall pile.

"There you are, Danny."

His brother's voice came down from the top of the stairs, causing him to jump.

"Your friends are here, and I'm going to leave here in a minute," Dick called down.

"Alright, I'm coming."

Bounding up the stairs two steps at a time, Danny met Dick at the top. He opened his mouth to ask Dick when exactly he was leaving, but Tucker interrupted him with a sudden hug.

"Danny! You're leaving us! Who's going to go to the beach with me to pick up the babes? By the time you're back, all the good ones will be taken!" Tucker pulled back to shake him by the shoulders. "What kind of useless wingman are you?!"

"Just take Sam with you," Danny suggested with a smirk.

Tucker ripped his hands away as if Danny had physically burnt him.

"Yeah, no. I'm not endorsing him treating women like objects." Crossing her arms, Sam rose an unamused eyebrow.

With a falsely sympathetic hand on his friends shoulder, Danny stated, "guess you're on your own for a while, Tuck."

Tucker's eyes narrowed.

Dick snorted, "it will only be a few weeks, you boys will have plenty of summer left to find yourself a girl."

"I'm more concerned about losing one of my DOOM teammates. The game is a lot more fun and easier with a party." Sam grumbled.

"Oh man, we were just about to fight the Linch King boss for his key!" Danny dragged the palm of his hand up his forehead. "We were so ready for him too. Stupid plant."

"Is it a game you can bring with you?" Dick asked. "I have a computer you can use to play it on. I wouldn't mind you downloading anything onto it."

"Alright! Omega Team Mecha is gonna be slayin' this week!" Tucker pumped a fist into the air.

"We never agreed to that team name, Tucker. It's lame."

"Oh c'mon, Sam! It's a good name!"

"No Tuck, she's right. The name stinks."

"Worst wingman ever." Tucker grumbled, crossing his arms.

Just as Danny rolled his eyes, a cold wisp of air forced its way up his throat and through his teeth. The trio froze.

"Right! Danny!" Sam nearly wrenched Danny off his feet by his elbow. "There's something very important me and Tucker need to speak to you about. Alone." She drug him towards the stairs. "Sorry, Dick. We'll be back down in a bit."

"Is everything okay?" Dick asked the teens retreating quickly up the stairs, eyebrows scrunched.

"Yeah! Everything's fine!" Tucker replied before Danny's bedroom door shut behind them.

Turning, Dick noticed Maddie standing on the living room threshold with a frown.

"I don't know what to do with those three," she hummed. "They're inseparable, and always up to something."

* * *

Danny touched back down on his bedroom floor.

"That was fast," Sam commented from the edge of his bed.

Tucker didn't look up at his arrival, instead he continued to scroll through his phone, hanging upside down off the mattress next to Sam.

"Yeah, it was just a non-sentient mass of ectoplasm. It looked like it was eating the leftover dead plants from Undergrowth."

Tucker made a face. "Nasty. Did you catch it?"

"Yeah, I thought about leaving it to help with the clean up, but with my luck it would probably turn into a skyscraper snacking monster once it ate enough."

"Yeah, probably best to avoid any possibility of another city wide disaster," Sam monotoned.

"You sure there aren't any more?" Tucker asked, still not looking away from his screen.

"I looked around and didn't see any. I'm not too worried about it, but we… or you guys should probably keep an eye out for them for a while."

"Sure thing, boss."

"I'm not… you know what? Never mind." Danny shifted back to human, scowling at Tucker.

Setting the thermos down on his dresser, Danny suddenly remembered. "Oh, dude, guys! This morning a crazy big cat with a gazillion eyes attacked me." Danny told them, gesturing wildly. "It was the size of a bus! but it was just playing around like a house cat. An evil house cat."

"Riveting story. I'm glad you survived."

"Haha." Danny plopped down onto the mattress beside Sam, purposefully bouncing her as much as he could. Tucker flailed and dropped his phone with a yelp.

"That's not what I was getting at," Danny continued. "There was this lady hanging around during the fight. She didn't seem scared at all! Even after the cat tried to eat her, she was asking me weird questions and stuff, and she wouldn't leave, even after I told her to."

"Huh, that is weird." Sam agreed. "What kind of questions did she ask you?"

"If I was really dead, and she said she wanted to ask more questions, I called her crazy and left."

"Do you think she was a news reporter or something?" Sam suggested.

"I don't know. She was weird though."

"But was she hot?" Tucker pipped up.

Sam brought her fist down on Tucker's stomach. He flailed again, but this time he fell of the bed into a heap.

"Sam…" he croaked in a pained whisper. "…why…?"

"I suddenly felt like it." She turned back to Danny, who was staring at Tucker, looking a little flushed and little more scared. "So, you're going to be in Bludhaven for an undefined amount of time, leaving us to deal with the ghosts."

"Um, yeah. It was either that or stay with Vlad for an undefined amount of time." He gave a pained smile, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry for not being willing to choose the latter, even if it meant staying in Amity"

"Oh jeez, seriously? Those were your options? Why can't you stay at the house?"

"Beats me." He shrugged in exasperation.

"So, what's the plan?" She prompted.

"I don't know. You guys should swing by my house every now and then to make sure the portal is locked. It shouldn't be a problem because my dad can't get past all of the furniture and stuff down there, but just in case. I guess just handle the ghosts you can and call me if there's a problem and I'll… figure something out."

A quiet lull took the room as they all contemplated the next few weeks.

"Oh, hey Danny, I brought the PM with me." Tucker broke the silence and pulled the device out of his backpack. "I thought that maybe you would want to take it with you."

"Oh, yeah, I did. I want to pull it apart to see if I can figure out how it works."

"Good luck with that, Mr. C minus." Sam jabbed.

"Hey! Ghost hunting is time consuming. Heroism has a price." Danny puffed out his chest, sticking his nose up with an air of goofiness. "My grades happen to be a part of it."

"And yet you have time for video games." Sam's eyebrow shot up. "And what was your excuse before dying?"

"Uh," Danny coughed into his fist. "moving on. Are you guys running low on any ghost hunting stuff?"

Sam quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Right…" Tucker rolled his eyes. "Do you think you could get us a few of those ecto-battery things for the Fenton-wrist-rays? I think that's the only thing we're running low on…"

"That and thermoses," Danny grumbled.

"What? How are we running low on thermoses?"

"We only have three left. Vlad took one. Remember?"

"Yeesh, they're going faster than I would have thought. Maybe you could try and convince your dad to teach you how to make them?"

"Eh, maybe. Are you sure there's nothing else you guys need from the basement?"

Receiving two negatives, Danny sank through the floor. Invisibly, he drifted into the lab headed straight for his mom's cabinet, so over stuffed with gizmos and gadgets that she would never miss the few batteries he was going to swipe. He stilled with the batteries in hand as footsteps echoed down the stairs.

"The installment of the lab was completed a little after we brought Danny home." His mom's voice filtered down.

She and his brother stepped into the lab. His mom flipped on the lights and Dick gave a low whistle.

"This is huge. How did you get the clearance to build this?" He asked, looking around, ignoring the fact it was currently loaded from wall to wall with their belongings.

"A lot of string-pulling, and arm-twisting. But that hardly matters. What matters is that we got it done. Jack and I have accomplished so much down here, it was all well worth it."

Eyeing the wall of weaponry and tubs of sealed chemicals, Dick asked, "are Jazz and Danny allowed down here?"

"Well of course."

Danny had to float out of the way as his mom made her way to the cabinet. He held his breath, hoping that she wouldn't feel the chill he had left behind.

"They're both properly trained in how to handle most of the equipment down here, and they know not to touch anything else." His mom started moving things around so the drawers would actually close.

"Danny doesn't seem like one to follow rules," Dick said with a smirk.

"No," she laughed. "No, he isn't."

Danny floated further back, looking between the two, not entirely liking the direction the conversation had taken. He stiffened as his foot hit one of the boxes with a light thump.

His mom's head snapped in his direction, hand hovering over the ectogun on her hip. Danny sat stiff as she scrutinized the area. Slowly, she raised her hand for her heat-vision goggles, currently hanging from her neck.

Dick, who was busy looking at the tanks of old ectoplasm, didn't notice. "Do you think if Danny broke any lab rules and got himself hurt, that he'd tell you?"

Both he and his mom blinked at the question.

"I would certainly hope so." She answered with a frown, her hand sliding away from her goggles. "He knows how dangerous things down here can be, at least we've told him as much. He should know to be honest with that sort of thing." As she spoke, her confidence grew that he would be honest with her.

Pointedly ignoring the sting of his mom's belief, he studied his biological brother and tried to come up with what would possess him to ask that kind of question. Dick was still squatting next to the tanks, nodding slowly.

"Are Danny and Jazz involved or interested in what you do?" He asked conversationally, standing up.

Maddie's lips tightened for a moment before she answered. "Well, no. Jazz and Danny both have expressed a… dislike of our research in the past. But recently, ever since the ghosts have shown up in Amity, they've both displayed more interest. Danny though, the whole thing seems to scare him. We've been trying to introduce him to more weapons that would help keep him safe, but he's scared of the idea of fighting them. But he wont talk us. I'm afraid he's a bit embarrassed about it. We're not sure what to do at this point."

Confusion, then what seemed to be a spark of understanding danced across Dick's face, before he replaced it with the appropriate amount of worry. Danny stared at him, wide eyed.

Maddie continued, eyes thoughtfully roaming the lab. "His reluctance is understandable. Jack's inventions -and mine, I suppose- tend to misfire or malfunction every time we try and show them to him. That's the way of it though, things work until you really need them to." She chuckled unhappily at the irony.

"Misfire?" Dick asked.

"Well, yes. A good number of our weapons have built in targeting systems, because we want them to be as easy to use as possible. But we haven't figured out the programing for it just yet. It will commonly mistake a human for a ghost, and as my luck would have it, Danny is usually the mistaken target." She sighed. Then noticing the horror on Dick's face, she quickly explained, nervously rubbing her hands together, "but like Jack and I explained yesterday, the weapons are virtually harmless to humans, they just create a mess."

It seemed to calm him as he smiled and said, "right, of course. I'd forgotten." Placing his hands over hers, he told her seriously. "Maddie, I can't tell you how grateful I am to you and Jack for taking care of Danny when my parents didn't."

Danny, who had been slowly easing his way back towards the ceiling, suddenly stopped.

"Danny is… has been…" Maddie smiled at her own lack of words. "We haven't told the whole story of how we met Danny, have we?"

Dick's eyebrows scrunched. "You were at the hospital when they found him…"

He stopped when Maddie shook her head, smiling with tears in her eyes.

"I was pregnant. With a little girl. But I'd gotten sick, and had a miscarriage. She came two months early and only lived for a few hours. Jazz was with a family friend, so she never met her sister. But Jack, he- he had held her, sang to her until she passed." Maddie sniffed, wiping away a stray tear. "Afterwards, he was strong. He was being strong for me. I fell asleep with the drugs they gave me, and when I woke up. Jack was gone. He had stumbled across an infant that had been left at the hospital. The baby was so small, and he was sick. The doctors didn't think he would make it. Jack sat with the baby, singing to him. That's how I found them." She smiled. "At the time I was miffed at Jack for leaving me and, in my mind, replacing our little girl. But Jack just kept saying that the baby didn't have parents, and that he was good and strong, like a Fenton. Daniel's little blue eyes won me over." She choked up. "They looked just like Jack's."

Danny had sunk all the way to the floor, gaping at his mother's teary face.

"I lost the argument with Jack about the adoption, and I have never been happier about losing a fight. He's my baby boy." She let out a breath, then smiled at herself. "I'm sorry, I'm getting all emotional on you. He's my baby boy, and he always will be, no matter how old he is. But I'm so glad he has you. He's been growing distant from us, it's good that he has a mature adult to confide in."

Dick smiled, eyes misty. "Thank you, Maddie. That means a lot to me."

Looking between the two emotional adults, Danny thought it if best he left. Floating back up through the second floor, Danny emerged wide eyed and dazed.

"Took you long enough," Sam poked, not looking up from her phone. "How many did you grab?"

"Uh…" Danny's gaze slowly shifted to her.

She looked up at his lack of response. "Danny, are you okay?"

"I think he knows." He whispered.

"Uh, Danny?" Tucker's voice pitched. "Who knows what?"

"Dick…" Danny snapped out of it, looking at both of them. "Dick! I think Dick knows!"

He flashed human, and started pacing his room, pulling at his hair. "He knows, he knows, he totally knows!"

Sam stood up. Marching over to Danny, she smacked him over the head. "Would you quit it and explain?! Dick knows? How? And what exactly?"

"I don't know!" Danny rubbed his head. "Mom and Dick came down while I was getting the batteries. I was going to just hightail it out of there, but Dick started asking my mom weirdly specific questions!"

"Liiike," Sam prompted.

"Like if I would tell mom if I had broken lab rules and gotten myself hurt or not!"

Sam scrutinized Danny's face, frowning disbelievingly.

"That doesn't mean he knows that you've done it, dude." Tucker walked up to them, also unconvinced.

"Well, maybe, but, you- you should have seen his face when mom told him that their equipment goes haywire around me! He definitely put two and two together."

"Okay yeah, that sounds bad." Sam caved, eyes widening. "But that doesn't mean he knows. You could have been misreading things, so it really isn't a good idea to freak out just yet."

Danny took a breath, nodding. "You're right, you're right. It could have been noth-"

A light rapping on the door had all of their heads swiveling towards it.

"Hey, Danny? Is it alright if I come in?" Dick asked through the door.

Tucker gripped his barrette, and frantically whispered, "oh my god, do think he heard us? What if he heard us, what are we going to do?"

"Tucker, shut up! He didn't hear us!" Sam hissed under her breath.

"Danny?" Dick asked again.

"Uh, um, yeah! Come in!" Danny squeaked.

Opening the door, Dick looked at them worriedly. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything is great. Just fine. Yup!" Danny smiled.

Tucker and Sam grinned as well. Sam looked as though she wanted to kick Danny in the head, but smiled anyway.

"Okay." Dick chose not to pry, but didn't let it go without a lift of his eyebrow. "I'm leaving now. So, I'll see you tomorrow at the airport, alright?"

"Right, yeah. Sure thing. See you tomorrow!" Danny waved awkwardly.

"It was nice meeting you two," he told Tucker and Sam, shaking their hands. "I hope we get to see each other again soon."

"You too."

"Yeah, see you around." Tucker's voice trembled a bit, and he cleared his throat to hide it.

Dick gave Danny's hair a good ruffle before leaving. As soon as they heard the front door close, after Dick had said farewell to Jack and Maddie, Tucker flipped.

"Oh my god, he knows! And if he doesn't, he will before you get back! We're so totally screw-"

Sam hit him over the head.

"He doesn't know! You two can be idiots sometimes! Worst case scenario if he does find out is he tells your parents, or he tells everyone and gets sent to a nuthouse. You're parents aren't going to hate you, they'll just be breathing down our necks for as long as we hunt ghosts. Best case scenario is he respects your decisions and is supportive like Jazz. There is no need to freak out. But if you do keep freaking out, he'll know in the next forty-eight hours.

Tucker visibly relaxed, going over her logic in his head. But Danny frowned uneasily.

"There's a lot more that could go wrong, Sam. What if he tells a superhero? Or what if he tells the authorities and they take me and Jazz away, because my parents endangered us or something. What if he gets creeped out, or angry that I didn't tell him? What would Vlad do if another person learned, especially a person related to a person in charge of a huge corporation that could totally out him as a cheat?"

Sam considered for a second, before she sighed. "Okay, first off, Vlad shouldn't be that big a of a concern; we'll fight him, and kick his butt. Second, I don't think Dick would do something like that to your family, honestly, he doesn't seem like that much of a jerk. And again, Dick is cool. I don't think he'd treat you like that." She finished earnestly.

Tucker nodded next to her, completely agreeing.

"I guess." Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know, you guys. We've been wrong before."

"That," Tucker placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, "is your paranoia talking. When you go over there, just be cautious, but don't worry about it."

"Yeah, Danny, be cautious." Sam practically grumbled, switching moods. "Don't go flying around as a ghost in Bludhaven. People will assume you're a villain, and we don't need any super powered humans after you. And don't play with your powers, like we're always telling you not to at school. Someone is inevitably going to walk in on you and blow your secret. And Danny, don't go-"

"Alright! Alright, Sam!" Danny rolled his eyes, and headed out of his room. "Save it for tomorrow. I'm going downstairs to go grab a drink."

"That sounds good." Tucker followed.

Sam scowled and went after them. "You're not going to let me set ground rules for you tomorrow either."

Danny smirked at her, before jogging down the stairs by every other step. "I don't need ground rules, I'll be careful."

Sam huffed.

In the kitchen, Danny rummaged through the fridge, now covered in patchwork. Evidence that Maddie had been working in the kitchen presented itself all over. The table was full of the dishes and Tupperware that had survived along with cleaners, and odd parts and tools. Three bags full of trash and weeds sat in the corner of the room, waiting to be dealt with. Danny had a feeling that would be one of the jobs his mom would inevitably assign him to. All the cabinet doors hung open, or lay on the counter, and the cabinets themselves had been emptied and cleaned.

Just as Danny cracked open his soft drink, someone rang the doorbell. He took a sip, and the doorbell rang again.

His mom from upstairs called down, "Danny, would you get that, sweetie?"

"Aw man," Danny grumbled, putting down his drink. "On it!"

His friends hung back as he slumped to the front door, which looked like his parents had snagged Jazz's bedroom door as a temporary replacement. The doorbell rang one more time, and he opened the door. Any formal FentonWorks greeting he had died on his tongue. The woman last night stood on his porch, smiling sweetly down on him.

"Hiya kiddo, so you ain't dead after all."

 **HI YEAH, SO I FORGOT TO DELETE A NOTE TO SELF. I THOUGHT FOR SURE I DID. THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO POINTED IT OUT TO ME. (IT'S GONE NOW.)**

 **Hi.**

 **I couldn't find the line break line for whatever reason. It might be because I'm uploading this on a ipad instead of computer... Idk, this site is jinky.**

 **I have been writing a lot. But not for the right stories, my deepest apologies. I am ultra determined to finish both of them tho. so yah.**

 **Side note, I deleted the prologue.**

 **Date Posted: 5-14-18**

 **Rosy is out!**

 **Peace!**


	9. Not Dead

Chapter Nine

Not dead

 _The doorbell rang one more time, and he opened the door. Any formal FentonWorks greeting he had died on his tongue. The woman from last night stood on his porch, smiling sweetly down on him._

 _"Hiya kiddo, so you ain't dead after all."_

* * *

The blood drained from Danny's face. It was the lady from this morning. She stood there grinning down at him with a hand on her hip. He never thought that thick rimmed glasses, and a high pony tail could ever look so threatening.

"Wha…?" He breathed out. He hated how this was the way he reacted to being found. He wanted to stand strong, maybe lie his way out of it. But gaping like a fish out of water was how Phantom would be caught.

"Well, with the condition of your house, I thought that y'all might be dead! The news says there hasn't been a reported death caused by the plant incident -which is totally unbelievable, if ya ask me- and I was startin' to think I'd be the one to find the family that hadn' made it. But you ain't dead!" She clapped her hands together. "Which is good for me. Your parents wouldn' happen to be home would they? I'd like to have a look at their product."

Danny blinked. "Uh, right. Okay, yeah. I'll just… go get them. C'mon in."

He opened the door wider for her, and she waltzed right in. He slummed against the door as he closed it behind her. Letting go of a pent up breath, he placed a hand over his hammering heart. The lady scanned the house curiously. As she turned back to him, Danny quickly collected himself, and pushed himself off the door.

"They're upstairs…hold on."

Tucker and Sam gave Danny questioning looks as he passed the kitchen. He shook his head, and bounded up the stairs. At the top, he called down the hall. His first attempt didn't quite make it out of his throat, his muscles still taught from the shock. He had to clear it to try again.

"Mom! Dad! You've got a customer!"

"Oh? Who is it, Sweety?" His mom's muffled voice asked.

Danny slumped. How was he supposed to know, why would she ask that? "I don't know! Just some lady!"

"Alright," his mom stepped into the hallway with an excited spark in her eye. "We're coming!"

His dad emerged, wearing a construction tool belt full of completely normal, and unrecognizable gadgets. The two practically dove down the stairs past Danny.

"I'm Tucker, Tucker Foley. And who might you be?" Danny heard Tuck introduce himself in his 'smooth voice'.

The crazy lady didn't answer Tucker, or didn't have time to before his parents pounced.

"Hello! I'm Dr. Maddie Fenton! And the man in the orange is my husband, Dr. Jack Fenton!" She said enthusiastically.

Danny slowly descended, choosing to stand next to Sam. She gave another questioning look with a lifted eyebrow. It was then that Danny noticed he had positioned himself so that Sam was between him and the lady. He flushed and stepped forwards.

Danny's dad had already disappeared into the lab, probably to dig out their inventory.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Fenton. I'm Dr. Patricia Sawyer." Patricia shook his mom's hand professionally.

"The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Sawyer!" She gushed. Her eyes scanned the living room for a proper sitting place. Finding none, she quickly moved on. "How may we help you today? Are you in need of a pair of ghost hunters, to rid yourself of a pesky spook? Or are you looking for preventative measures to keep your house spook free? Or are you looking for self defense-"

"Actually, Dr. Fenton, I'm looking to catch a ghost myself."

Jack stopped short of reaching the top of the basement stairs, arms loaded with ghost shields, and weapons. Without a word, he turned and sprinted back down.

Danny subtly nugged on Sam's elbow, nodding towards the kitchen. She and Tucker got the message and slipped away.

"Really?" His mom asked. "Are you sure? These ghosts are tricky creatures, and can be quite dangerous. It's best to send them back into their dimension, or obliterate them where they float."

"And that's why I've come to FentonWorks. I hear your equipment is the best there is against the ghosts."

Once out of sight from the adults, Danny whispered, "that's the lady from this morning! The crazy one!"

"Wow, really?" Sam asked, looking back at the doorway.

"So she was hot! Man, you might be mixing up crazy with brave." Tucker sighed.

Sam rolled her eyes in disgust. "She's way too old for you, Tucker."

"I wonder what she wants with a ghost?" Danny pondered. "Wait, you don't think she's after me specifically, do you?"

"That's definitely a possibility," Sam hummed in thought.

"That definitely would be a good thing." Tucker smiled. "I will be so jealous if she catches you, Danny."

Slightly grossed out, Danny and Sam both pulled a face.

"Would you knock it off, Tucker?" She smacked him over the head. "And keep your voice down, they'll hear us."

"Yeah, I doubt she'll actually catch me. I'm more worried about her getting hurt trying to."

Sam narrowed her eyes at Danny. "It better not be because she's a girl, Danny."

"It's not!" He whispered in defense. At her unbelieving look, he continued, "she's crazy, doesn't run when it gets dangerous, and she doesn't look like she could throw a brick if she wanted to. She probably doesn't know how to fight at all. Besides, she's a doctor. Doesn't that take like a dozen years of school? She's a nerd."

"Your mom has a PHD. So does your dad. And they're both crazy." Sam pointed out.

"They're a special case and you know it."

Sam hummed, scrunching her face and pretending not to agree.

"I think Danny's got a point." Tucker threw his arm around Danny and grinned. "Maybe we should follow her to make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble."

"No, Tucker." Sam and Danny said in unison.

"It would be good to know what she buys though. Just to know what to look out for," Sam reasoned.

"I can just ask mom and dad after she leaves…" Danny trailed off and they all began listening in to the conversation in the other room.

"This cage will keep a ghost trapped for sure!" His dad bragged. "But only for forty-eight hours. Unless you buy extra ecto-batteries for it. As long as it's got a charge, the ghost can't even touch the bars! The trick is getting them in there…"

Danny shivered.

"I like it," the lady, Patricia, said. "But you know, I saw this ghost using a device. It looked like one of your inventions. It was a.. soup thermos, but it sucked the other ghost right up. I'd love to buy one of those off of you." He heard his mom practically snarl, "it is one of our inventions. But we couldn't get it working properly. The ghost boy stole it from us, and he somehow got it working. We haven't managed to get it back to study how he did it."

"Oh," Patricia only let a little disappointment show. "That's alright, then. May I make an order, and have you deliver the stuff to my hotel room?"

"Of course! Here- oh, um, Jack darling? Would you mind grabbing my paperwork out of my cabinet in the lab? It should all be in the second drawer from the top."

"Sure thing!" His dad bounded down the stairs.

"Do you take credit?" Patricia asked his mom.

Danny grabbed his forgotten drink off of the table. "Lets go to my room, guys."

"Don't you want to listen in to what she gets?" Tucker whispered, confused.

In the middle of a swig, Danny rolled his eyes. "Mom and Dad don't get new customers often, but when they do, they do not shut up about it. I'm going to be hearing all about what she purchased, and what she didn't for the rest of the day and tomorrow."

"Oh boy, I bet." Sam grinned.

"You guys have both been here before after a customer, you've heard them." Danny stated questioningly.

"Dude, we don't listen to your parents. Half the time I don't even understand them."

Sam nodded, agreeing with Tucker.

Dannys scowled in light hearted jealousy at his two friends. Then he quietly lead the way back to his room. Easily slipping past the adults unnoticed.

* * *

 **A few hours later**

Danny messed with the sleek new phone his parents had handed to him before heading to the airport with one hand. The other hand held on securely to the handle above his seat, barely noticing whenever his dad hit the curb taking a corner too sharp. The glossy screen was unscratched or marked, and felt wondrously smooth under his thumb. It's protective, flexible case opened and closed around the phone. His brother had gotten it for him, but gave it to his parents first for whatever reason. He guessed his mom had said he wasn't getting another phone, and Dick may have been trying to respect that. It already had Dick's number in it, as well as his sisters and parents. He added Tucker's and Sam's in. But other than that the phone was free of any apps or content. It had a Wayne-Tech logo on the back underneath the case, but Danny had never seen this model before.

Danny smirked to himself. The perks of being indirectly related to a billionaire. He couldn't wait to show Tucker. He typed out a quick text to Jazz, Tucker, and Sam, letting them know he had a new number and phone. Just as he hit send, the RV lurched to a sudden stop.

"We're here, Dann-o!" His dad boomed and leapt out of the vehicle.

Danny unbuckled. Shrugging his back pack on, Danny slipped the phone into his pocket. His hand barley brushed the door handle, before his dad flung it open and grabbed the rest of his luggage, a under stuffed duffle bag.

"Remember, Jack dear, we've been banned from the airport, he's going to have to carry his own stuff," his mom said with a worried frown.

"Mom, I'll be fine." Danny hopped out of the van.

After hugs and kisses, and Danny assuring them he'd stay safe, he waved over his shoulder has he headed for the entrance doors. He noted a security guard hovering just inside, eyeing his parents.

The Ghostbusters theme song jingled from Jack's pocket. Danny turned curiously. The only sign of embarrassment he gave was a small glance in the direction of the family walking quickly past.

"VLADDY!" Jack answered the phone immediately. "Oh! That's right! I forgot to tell you. There's been a change of plans, I hope that's alright."

Danny's eyes bulged. If his dad had forgotten to inform Vlad, that ment Vlad most definetly had plans for his stay. The idea of being alone in an airport immediatly after his dad informed the man Danny had kicked in the manhood and shot point blank in the face that he would not in fact have the golden oprotinity for revenge drained all color from his face. He dropped his bag and sprinted back.

"You see, Vladdy, Danny-"

"I want to tell him!"

Jack was cut off by Danny jumping up and snatching the phone.

"Hiya, Uncie Vlad!" Danny greeted innocently, walking in a small circle and ignoring his mom's disapproving look.

"Daniel," Vlad barley held back from a growl. "What have you done? Where are you? I'm at your house to pick you up as scheduled and no one is here."

"Well, you see, the thing is… Whoops!" Danny pretended to trip on his own foot.

He smashed his dad's cheap flip phone against the pavement as he fell. The strangly satisfying crack and crunch of the plastic underneath his palm had him sighing in releaf.

"Danny, are you alright?" His dad knelt down to help him up.

"Oh no! Dad, I am so sorry!" Danny stood, holding the plastic remains. "You hadn't done any upgrades to it yet, right?"

His dad frowned, taking the pieces from him. He put it up to his ear and listened for a second, before shrugging forelornly.

"Forget about the phone, I'm more worried about Vladdy. I forgot to tell him Dick is taking care of you instead and Maddie still doesn't carry a phone…"

His mom put her hands on her hips. "Daniel. Jackson. Fenton." she said with shock, anger and denial all mixed together.

Danny stiffened, but tried to play it off with a smile. "I'm sure Vlad will be fine?"

"You broke your father's phone, Danny."

"I said I was sorry." He gave a nervous chuckle looking away from her. "Oh, would you look at the time! Don't want to miss the plane!" Ignoring his mom's protests he took off for the building, throwing goodbyes over his shoulder.

* * *

Slouching in the front seat, Harley strummed the steering wheel impatiently. Giving the Fenton-Scanner a good shake, she grumbled.

"'Most haunted city in America.' 'Ghost attacks nonstop.' Ya, well I haven't seen nothin' for hours! The stupid liars."

She flipped down the heat vision goggles and scanned the park one more time. She let out a whine when nothing out of the ordinary showed itself. Her pouty lip turned into a scowl as she started up the stollen Jeep. Before she could pull out from the curb, the scanner gave a ding. There in the top right corner of the screen a bright green dot blipped at her. She gave a whoop and sped off, plowing through traffic.

* * *

Aside from Danny casually watching out for any signs of Vlad during his trip, it was uneventful. He really wasn't looking forward to the next time they fought, he'd been royally pissing Vlad off quite a bit lately. Dick met Danny at the baggage claim with a smile so bright and kind, he had girls in the airport unsubtly keeping their eyes on him. Danny wondered if he even noticed.

As they made their way to the parking lot, to the motorcycle, Dick gave him a run down of his work schedule and how he would be on call most of Danny's visit, and what Bludhaven had to offer visiting teenagers with nothing to do. It didn't have much. With Dick laying out what his stay was going to look like, it dawned on Danny: for an indefinite amount of time he would be away from his ghost hunting parents, away from the city that hated his alter ego, and, hopefully, away from the ghosts.

Dick handed him a leather jacket and a helmet, then asked how he felt about breaking the speed limit. Danny smiled. The summer was going to be awesome.

* * *

 **It's short. But it's what I had. (I'm trying to post more regularly.)**

 **Thank you for the support you guys. I love getting your reviews!**

 **Until next time**

 **Date posted: 07-06-18**


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